African-American film director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith have declared their intention to boycott the next month’s Oscars ceremony because of the mostly white nominees.
Lee said on Instagram he “cannot support” the “lily white” awards show.
This is the second year in a row there have been boycott calls, sparked by a list of nominees that is mostly white.
Below is the full text of Spike Lee:
Would Like To Thank President Cheryl Boone Isaacs And The Board Of Governors Of The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences For Awarding Me an Honorary Oscar This Past November. I Am Most Appreciative. However My Wife, Mrs. Tonya Lewis Lee And I Will Not Be Attending The Oscar Ceremony This Coming February. We Cannot Support It And Mean No Disrespect To My Friends, Host Chris Rock and Producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs And The Academy. But, How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White? And Let’s Not Even Get Into The Other Branches. 40 White Actors In 2 Years And No Flava At All. We Can’t Act?! WTF!!
It’s No Coincidence I’m Writing This As We Celebrate The 30th Anniversary Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday. Dr. King Said “There Comes A Time When One Must Take A Position That Is Neither Safe, Nor Politic, Nor Popular But He Must Take It Because Conscience Tells Him It’s Right”. For Too Many Years When The Oscars Nominations Are Revealed, My Office Phone Rings Off The Hook With The Media Asking Me My Opinion About The Lack Of African-Americans And This Year Was No Different. For Once, (Maybe) I Would Like The Media To Ask All The White Nominees And Studio Heads How They Feel About Another All White Ballot. If Someone Has Addressed This And I Missed It Then I Stand Mistaken.
As I See It, The Academy Awards Is Not Where The “Real” Battle Is. It’s In The Executive Office Of The Hollywood Studios And TV And Cable Networks. This Is Where The Gate Keepers Decide What Gets Made And What Gets Jettisoned To “Turnaround” Or Scrap Heap. This Is What’s Important. The Gate Keepers. Those With “The Green Light” Vote. As The Great Actor Leslie Odom Jr. Sings And Dances In The Game Changing Broadway Musical HAMILTON, “I WANNA BE IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS”. People, The Truth Is We Ain’t In Those Rooms And Until Minorities Are, The Oscar Nominees Will Remain Lilly White. (Cont’d)
Among those overlooked were the NWA biopic Straight Outta Compton for best picture and Will Smith for best actor in NFL film Concussion.
Actrors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith arrive on the red carpet. ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
His wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, said in a video message on Facebook that she would not attend.
“Begging for acknowledgement, or even asking, diminishes dignity and diminishes power,” she said. “And we are a dignified people and we are powerful.”
Both Jada and Spike Lee made their announcement on Martin Luther King Jr Day, which is a national holiday in the US to remember the slained civil rights leader.
“Forty white actors in two years and no flava at all,” said Lee. “We can’t act?!”
There were similar calls to boycott the ceremony Last year, but its the first time a high-profile personality carrying out a threat.
This year, academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs has tried to make the show on 28 February more diverse, bringing in black comedian Chris Rock to host.
Meanwhile, renowned civil-rights activist, reverend Al Sharpton said: “Hollywood is like the Rocky Mountains, the higher up you get the whiter it gets and this year’s Academy Awards will be yet another Rocky Mountain Oscar.”
