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Obama responds to #oscarssowhite debate on Academy Awards
Posted On Feb 03 2016
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The president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says Chris Rock didn’t consider pulling out as Oscars host in the wake of the diversity controversy, and she fully expects the comedian to tackle the issue during the ceremony.
Mr Obama says the Oscars debate was an expression of a broader issue, saying: “Are we making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot?”
The Academy has to ensure that every actors, actress and movie related personnel gets a fair chance at the Oscars.
A number of black actors have already announced their intention to boycott one the most anticipated awards ceremony of the year to record their protest, while others have slammed their counterparts for making a big deal out of it. The overwhelmingly white, male organization-troubled by its rapidly declining power in an ever-evolving world-released a press release this week, after the Oscar nominations provoked outrage over the exclusion of black and brown artists. Predictably, social media mavens rushed in to complain, resurrecting the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag, which quickly went viral.
Speaking with local news stations on Wednesday, Obama hailed diversity as a “strength” that makes for better art. “That makes for better entertainment”. Jada Pinkett Smith, apparently miffed that her husband Will Smith’s widely praised performance in “Concussion” was passed over, said on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day that she would not attend the Oscars and encouraged others to join her. “Should people of color refrain from participating altogether?” It’s the same room the two convened in four years ago to discuss the debt ceiling, gay marriage and the economy. “And now I think that it’s our responsibility now to make the change”.
“Well, I think it’s a tough situation”, Trump said.
Many expected the Fresh Prince star to pick up a lead actor nomination for his role in Concussion, which was inspired by and documents the struggle of Nigerian forensic pathologist Dr Bennet Omalu against America’s National Football League (NFL).
