Tyrese Gibson wants Chris Rock to step down from hosting Oscars

Hip hop artist and mogul 50 Cent joins actor Tyrese Gibson in calling for Rock to turn down his hosting duties for the awards show in response to the #OscarsSoWhite issue.

“The statement that you make is that you step down”, Gibson told People on Wednesday.

Actor and singer Tyrese Gibson says that Leonardo DiCaprio supports his outspoken criticism of this year’s diversity-challenged Oscars.

“Please do not do the Oscars awards”, wrote rapper 50 Cent on Instagram.

Perhaps referencing the 1989 film Do The Right Thing, directed by Spike Lee who is boycotting the Oscars, Gibson wrote on Instagram: “Chris Rock do the right thing make a statement – we’re relying on you to DO the right thing…”

“I just think they’re possibly out of touch”, he continued. At this year’s Academy Awards, not one LGBT person was nominated in the four acting categories. “So I never used the word boycott…”

“I am both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion (in the nominations)”, she said. “They have to”, he told reporters.

“And so… I have to demur and I have to stand up for the people I have to stand up for”.

Gibson did praise comments Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith have made in recent days, but he said he feels bad that the work of some of his friends who were nominated has been overshadowed by the controversy.

The Do the Right Thing film-maker also said he would “support [Rock] either way” whether he chose to host the Oscars or not.

The Oscars will take place on February 28.

So far, Chris Rock has kept pretty low profile when it comes to the swirling controversy surrounding the lack of diversity in the nominees at the big show, though he did take to Twitter on January 15 to describe the Oscars as being the “white BET Awards”.

The “Top 5” star hasn’t addressed the calls for him to step down but recently poked fun at the all-white acting nominees. The BET Awards is hosted annually by the Black Entertainment Television network and celebrates the best of African American culture.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, meanwhile, has called the row “a tough situation”, saying “it would certainly be nice if everybody could be represented properly”.