Viola Davis weighs in on Academy Awards controversy

“The things that they’re rallying against are true, there is… diversity issues… but… the people that are actually rallying are very powerful, and they could create their own Academy, so I go for – start your own Academy”. Caine was referring to his performance in Youth, out today, which attracted early awards seasons buzz but failed to secure the actor a Golden Globe, BAFTA or Academy Award nomination. That’s where I’m at right now. To mark the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s birth by sulking and pouting and making threats to demand gold plated statuettes is pathetic, so writes Ben Stein in The American Spectator.

The actress told Entertainment Tonight, “How many black films are being produced every year?” How are they being distributed? “The films that are being made, are the big-time producers thinking outside of the box in terms of how to cast the role?”

Last year, Davis became the first black actress to win an Emmy for best actress in a leading role on a TV drama, for her performance in How to Get Away With Murder. She explained, “The problem isn’t even our pay”.

For the second consecutive year, all 20 Academy Award acting nominees are white, which has prompted criticism from actors including George Clooney, Reese Witherspoon and Will Smith, who has announced he will be boycotting the awards ceremony next month (February).

“You have to go to the root of the problem and the root of the problem is that the studios are simply not green lighting films that are led by minority performers to a sufficient degree that actually reflects this country and its make-up and that has to change”. “He should make Chris Rock jokes about it all night”.