Academy board rethinks awards system to counter racism slur

It has been a week of uncomfortable conversations in Hollywood. “I feel badly for the president of the Academy, because not only is she a woman, she’s black, if anyone’s going to be sensitive to this situation, it’s going to be her”, Rivers went on.

“Boycott the Oscars” began with the #Oscarssowhite movement on the social media (reemergence of last year’s hashtag ) and gained momentum when Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee made it publicly known that they would not be attending the program this year because of the lack of diversity in the nominations.

One of 2015’s best films, Straight Outta Compton was directed by F. Gary Gray, and stars O’Shea Jackson, Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown, Jr., Aldis Hodge, and Paul Giamatti.

Miller, who is coming off of John Ridley’s American Crime and is headed to Sundance with Nate Parker’s slave drama The Birth of a Nation, continues, “I loved Beasts of No Nation, and I loved Idris Elba in it – I just think not enough people saw it, and that’s sometimes what happens. Such a sweeping declaration is extremely irresponsible”. “I can not prove the Academy or anyone else is not racist”, he grants.

Miller added that there are a lot of white people who didn’t get nominations, either: “I’m sure Michael Keaton is bummed, you know?”

“People of color are always welcomed to give out awards”, Jada argued on Twitter.

The Straight Outta Compton Blu-ray hits stores Tuesday, January 19, and Hypable is giving away a prize pack to celebrate. “[He] is absolutely one of my favorites, hosting, and I can’t wait to see what he has to say”. Now, I guess, we have to hear from the defensive white people who voted for those nominees.