Calls mount for Chris Rock to boycott Oscars

Top Five actor Rock is set to host the awards ceremony on 28 February 2016 in Los Angeles but many members of the African-American community believe he should step down after a number of prominent black actors such as Idris Elba, Will Smith and the Straight Outta Compton cast, were snubbed from the nominations list.

He told People Magazine: “If the host Chris Rock was a homosexual he would have stepped down already”. “We’re just saying, ‘This is not cool.’ You can’t be doing this in 2016 and acting as if no one is going to notice”.

Gibson also blasted the Academy for failing to nominate the Wiz Khalifa-Charlie Puth single “See You Again”, from “Furious 7“. Several other stars including George Clooney, David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o have expressed that they are not happy with the lack of diversity everyone is talking about.

“Chris Rock is the host of the Academy Awards, and to boycott him seems just as bad as what everybody is saying”, she said on the talk show “We have this conversation every year, and it pisses me off”. “The statement that you make is that you step down”.

He added, “Don’t keep showing up, acting as if you don’t know what’s going on, thinking about you Think about the future generation”. Director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett-Smith have both said publicly that they will not attend the ceremony. “So I never used the word boycott…” “If not, I’m not going to [present]”.

Lee also relayed his disappointed about the “lack of diversity” issue on the Oscars 2016 nominations announced last week through his official social media account.

Rapper 50 Cent posted a picture of Rock on Instagram with the caption, “Chris please do not do the oscars awards”.

When asked if he thinks Chris Rock should step down from his role as host, Gibson explained that, in his opinion, there’s nothing the comedian can say on Oscars night to remedy the issue. “The White BET Awards”.

Gibson went on to say that if all LGBT actors were left out of the categories and Rock was gay, he would have removed himself from the show already.

Gibson praised the actions of Lee and Pinkett-Smith in his interview.