Will Smith Won’t Be Attending 2016 Oscars
Will Smith will join his wife Jada Pinkett Smith in boycotting the 2016 Oscars. The rapper-turned-actor spoke to Good Morning America and weighed in on his decision not to attend the awards show as well as racism in America and Hollywood.
The blockbuster actor feels that the lack of diversity in movies and the resulting Oscars nominations do not represent the diversity of the U.S. and he would not feel comfortable showing up to the event. "My wife's not going. It would be awkward to show up with [actress] Charlize [Theron]," he said. "We've discussed it. We're part of this community. But at this current time, we're uncomfortable to stand there and say, 'This is okay.'"
Pinkett Smith has been calling for fellow black actors, actresses and members of Hollywood to not attend the 2016 Oscars. The outrage stems from the lack of diversity in the Academy's nominations. For the second straight year, the 20 acting nominees are all white. "There's a position we hold in this community and if we're not a part of the solution, we're part of the problem," he said. "And it was her call to action for herself for me and for our party to be a part of the solution."
Smith was sure to point out that the decision did not have to do with the fact that he some people think that he was snubbed by the Academy for his role in Concussion. "This is so deeply not about me. This is about children that are going to sit down and watch this show and they're not going to see themselves represented. There's a regressive slide towards separatism, towards racial and religious disharmony. And that's not the Hollywood that I want to leave behind."
Other members of the hip-hop community are joining the boycott and have said they will not attend or watch the Oscars. "Somebody asked me, was I gonna watch the muthafuckin' Oscars," said Snoop Dogg in an Instagram post. "Fuck no. The fuck am I gonna watch that bullshit for? They got no niggas nominated. All these great movies and all this great shit y'all keep stealing from us. Fuck you! Fuck you!"
50 Cent is calling for more dramatic measures as he asked Chris Rock to step down as host. In a since-deleted Instagram post, the rapper put up a picture of Rock with the caption, "Chris please do not do the oscar awards [sic]. You mean a lot man, don't do it. Please."
In a video captured by TMZ, K Camp supported Straight Outta Compton and said that it is going to take time before black art gets accepted by the powers that be. "Us as a black culture, we know what we're getting ourself into when we step into the other side of the industry," he said. "We gotta put in 110 times more work and it doesn't get recognized. Straight Outta Compton was a great movie, one of the best hip-hop movies of all-time. Somebody has gotta break the barrier and a time will come when the work is recognized properly. Until then, we gotta keep puttin' that work in."
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