Stars call for a boycott of the Oscars amid racial controversy

Jake Miller
February 11, 2016

On Jan. 14, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, better known as “the Academy”, announced their official Oscar nominees.

The annual event, hosted by comedian Chris Rock, attracted quite a bit of controversy when, for the second year in a row, all 20 acting nominees were white. As a result, prominent members of the African-American community called for a boycott of the ceremonies.

Jada Pinkett Smith was the first to call attention to the issue.

Jada Pinkett Smith (above) was the first to call out the Academy on the diversity issue. Smith's husband, Will Smith, was snubbed for his role in Concussion, a biopic about pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu.
Jada Pinkett Smith (above) was the first to call out the Academy on the diversity issue. Smith’s husband, Will Smith, was snubbed for his role in Concussion, a biopic about pathologist Dr. Bennet Omalu.

“At the Oscars,” she tweeted, “… people of color are always welcomed to give out awards … even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments. Should people of color refrain from participating all together?”

Later, actors Spike Lee, Idris Elba, George Clooney, and David Oyelowo joined the movement.

Oyelowo was incredulous that out of all the possible nominations, black people garnered none.

“For 20 opportunities to celebrate actors of color, actresses of color,” said Oyelowo, “to be missed last year is one thing; for that to happen again this year is unforgivable.”

The Twitter hashtag #OscarsSoWhite started trending as a result of the announcement.

However, most Americans, according to a poll by CNN, don’t really care about the diversity issue.

Over 60% of those polled said that the racial makeup of the nominees didn’t matter to them. Additionally, only 30% support the boycott itself, although that percentage rises to 44% when only including non-white people.

Later on, the NY Times tried to gauge true public opinion on the issue. Reader comments overwhelmingly supported the Oscars, writing that although the lack of diversity is troubling, it isn’t necessarily a result of racism.

“Films focused upon black people this past year were simply not worthy of being nominated for the ‘best’ of anything,” a reader by the username of Danguide said.

Others, like reader Lorraine, cautioned critics not to ignore previous black Oscars winners.

“Great black actors have rec’d many awards& honors, esp. in the last decade plus. Stop trying to create divisiveness. It’s about talent, not race,” she said.

A full timeline of the controversy is available here.

For those planning to watch, the Oscars will air on Feb. 28 at 7 ET.