Music
19 Jan 16

Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith to boycott Oscars

Stars will abstain from Hollywood's biggest night due to a lack of diversity among nominees

Controversy was sparked yesterday as two prominent figures in Hollywood, director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith, announced via their social media that they will be boycotting this year’s Oscars.
They cited a lack of ethnic diversity among the nominees for the second year running as the reason behind their stance.
In a video posted on her Facebook page, Pinkett Smith argued “Begging for acknowledgement or even asking for acknowledgement diminishes dignity and diminishes power. And we are a dignified people.”
Lee, known for his activist take directing films which tackle injustices against the African American community, also posted on his Instagram account: “For too many years when the Oscar nominations are revealed, my office phone rings off the hood with the media asking me about the lack of African-Americans and this year was no different. My wife, Mrs. Tonya Lewis Lee and I will not be attending the Oscar Ceremony this coming February.”
Many were surprised this year when Will Smith - Jada's other half - and Michael B. Jordan went without recognition for their performances in Concussion and Creed respectively.
There is no denying the facts: since its establishment in 1929, the Academy has given out over 2071 awards, just 31 of which have gone to people of colour. In the last two years, not one African American has even been nominated in the four top acting categories. The Academy’s president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a woman of colour herself, has addressed the issue, saying: “I am heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it’s time for big changes. We need to do more, and better and more quickly.”
For the year of 2016 it’s a little too late. With #OscarsSoWhite now trending on Twitter, host Chris Rock will now have a lot riding on his shoulders and it will be interesting to see how he deals with the issue and to see if anyone joins Lee and Pinkett Smith in their boycott of films biggest awards night.