On Thursday (Jan. 14), the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences released the official nominations for the 88th annual Academy Awards. While some actors basked in the excitement of receiving an Oscar nod, many actors were angered by a noticeable pattern. Actress Jada Pinkett Smith and director Spike Lee recently announced their decision to boycott the forthcoming Oscar ceremony due to continuous lack of diversity.
While the nation celebrates the accomplishments and legacy of Civil Rights leader, Martin Luther King Jr., the fight for equality remains an ongoing battle for marginalized groups like minorities and women. While, Black nominees have graced the list throughout the years, they are rarely placed under the categories for Best Actor and Actress or Best Supporting Actor or Actress. The recent nominations not only sparked backlash, but it also helped generate a new social media label: #OscarsSoWhite.
Pinkett Smith initially addressed the topic on her Twitter account, asking her 900,000 followers if people of color should stray away from participating all together. She then released a video to her personal Facebook account explaining how disappointed she was in the Oscar nominations. She also revealed she will not be attending the ceremony at Dolby Theater nor will she be watching from home.
We must stand in our power.
Posted by Jada Pinkett Smith on Monday, January 18, 2016
Her husband, Will Smith, is no stranger to boycotting award shows either. In 1989, Will and DJ Jazzy Jeff led a boycott around the Grammy Awards when it refused to broadcast the rap category, in which they won.
“Begging for acknowledgement or even asking diminishes dignity and diminishes power and we are a dignified people and we are powerful, let’s not forget it," Pinkett Smith said on Facebook. "So let’s let the Academy do them with all grace and love and let’s do us differently.”
Famed director and actor, Spike Lee, also used his Instagram platform to speak about injustice in the film industry and reveal he will not be attending. Lee's directorial work has often times been ignored by the Academy. Although he was given an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards last November, Lee used his acceptance speech as a way to speak out about his distaste toward past nominee selections.
"I Will Not Be Attending The Oscar Ceremony This Coming February," Lee wrote on Instagram. "We Cannot Support It And Mean No Disrespect To My Friends, Host Chris Rock and Producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs And The Academy. But, How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White? And Let's Not Even Get Into The Other Branches. 40 White Actors In 2 Years And No Flava At All. We Can't Act?! WTF!!"
During Oscar season, Lee admitted his office phone rings consistently with questions from the media about how he feels about the lack of African-Americans in the nominations. He's tired of answering that question. Lee revealed he really wants to hear how the white actors and studio executives feel about the situation.
The Oscars have been criticized in the past for only recognizing black actors for subservient or stereotypical roles like athletes or gangsters, instead of films where they're shown as leaders. Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences President Cherryl Boone Isaacs, who is an African-American herself, told Deadline.com she is "disappointed" in the final nominees.
For more on the lack of diversity at the Oscars, check out the video Huffington Post put together below:
#OscarsSoWhite isn't just a hashtag. It's a real problem.
Posted by The Huffington Post on Sunday, February 22, 2015
