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President Barack Obama this week said the controversy over this year’s all-white Oscar acting nominations is part of a broader issue America is grappling with.
No ethnic minority actors or actresses were nominated for the top Oscar awards for the second year running, sparking an outcry and prompting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to announce reforms.
“I think that when everyone’s story is told, then that makes for better art,” Obama told regional television anchors.
“It makes for better entertainment, it makes everybody feel part of one American family,” he said, according to an ABC affiliate.
“I think as a whole, the industry should do what every other industry should do, which is to look for talent, provide opportunity to everybody.
“And I think the Oscar debate is really just an expression of this broader issue. Are we making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot?”
Many actors and actresses have voiced their disdain with the Academy’s lack of diverse nominations. All of the nominees for the major acting categories are white, while the nominated movies denoted as “black films” have only white nominees recognised. Jada Pinkett-Smith and husband Will have boycotted the event, and many entertainers such as Lupita Nyong’o, George Clooney and Viola Davis have spoken out about this growing dilemma.
Snoop Dogg had no kind words as he took to Instagram to make his voice heard on the matter. He recorded a video of himself saying:
“Somebody was actually like am I gonna watch the motherf—ing Oscars. F— no. What the f— am I going to watch that bulls— for? They ain’t got no n— nominated. All these great movies and all this great s— ya’ll keep stealing from us. F— you! F— you!”
Even though actor Samuel L. Jackson was not given an Academy Award nomination for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, LaTanya Richardson Jackson assures fans that she and her husband are not bothered by it.
“Of course, I was upset because Sam didn’t get nominated, but then we moved on,” said the Fighting Temptations actress.
“We’re of a different generation – we lived through the black power movement – so we moved on. . . . I’m disturbed by it all, but we gotta remember: the Oscars is one night.”
LaTanya however said she believes her husband should have gotten a nomination for his role as the film’s bounty hunter, Major Marquis Warren. – TimesLive/Vibe.
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