Lupita Nyong’o says Oscar nominations ‘disappointing’

Jada Pinkett Smith says the backlash to the all-white acting nominees for the Academy Awards “isn’t really about the Oscars”.

“The Oscars should have a diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today”, she said.

But in the end, Boone Isaacs is a noble captain, and I applaud her efforts to make change where she can and to creatively develop initiatives that can improve the Academy’s record. But given the size of the academy, and the fact that members belong for life, any change to the organization’s overall demographics has been incremental. The holiday serves as a reminder to challenge us to talk about diversity, and in this case it highlighted even more the apparent lack of it in the Oscar lineup. A year ago it was certifiably ignorant for Ava DuVernay, director of “Selma”, not to receive an Oscar nomination.

But the 54-year-old star doesn’t think racial diversity is the only inequality issue in Hollywood.

“There’s probably a part of that in there but, for Jada, had I been nominated and no other people of color were, she would have made the video anyway”, Smith said.

“He’s going to do what he wants to do, and I’m going to support either way”, Lee said. But it’s important that they care about a real problem in their industry of make-believe and take real steps to solve it.

Despite receiving an honorary Oscar at last year’s Governor’s Awards, Spike Lee posted on Instagram on Martin Luther King’s birthday Monday, saying he and his wife would not be attending the Oscar ceremony. Since becoming the academy’s first African-American president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs has worked to induct a higher rate of minorities and unveiled a five-year initiative to promote diversity in the industry.

For the second year running, no black or minority actors have been nominated in the four Oscars acting categories.

Lee’s statement said, “We Cannot Support It And Mean No Disrespect To My Friends, Host Chris Rock and Producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs And The Academy”.

“We are moving in the wrong direction”, actor George Clooney told Variety earlier this week regarding the rising controversy surrounding the recently announced 2016 Academy Award nominations.

“We need to counter what everybody has, see the lay of the land and see who has which careers in TV”, Elba told the inquiry into the country’s entertainment industry. “In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond”. He is fascinated by technology and social media and the seemingly love/hate relationship we have with the changing world.

Janet Hubert, who played Aunt Viv, said: “I find it ironic that somebody who has made their living and has made millions and millions of dollars from the very people that you’re talking about boycotting – just because you didn’t get a nomination, just because you didn’t win?”

“Especially the last two years when there has been extraordinary performances by black actors”. More POC actors should absolutely represent their people at the ceremony to show everyone that they’re not going away and that they’re not giving up.