Will Smith joins Oscars boycott, says he won’t attend
Will Smith said today he will not attend the Academy Awards next month, joining his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith and others in protest against two straight years of all-white acting nominees. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
NEW YORK » Will Smith says he will not attend the Academy Awards next month, joining his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and others in protest against two straight years of all-white acting nominees.
“My wife’s not going. It would be awkward for me to show up with Charlize (Theron),” said Smith on ABC’s “Good Morning America” today. “We’ve discussed it, but at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say this is OK.”
Smith, who some thought might be nominated for his performance in the football drama “Concussion,” said his decision was “deeply not about me.”
“This is about children that are going to sit down and they’re going to watch the show and they’re not going to see themselves represented,” said Smith.
Smith, who would likely have been a sought-after presenter at the Feb. 28 ceremony, becomes the biggest name to join a boycott of the Academy Awards following announcements by Spike Lee (an honorary Oscar recipient this year) and Pinkett Smith.
Mark Ruffalo, nominated for his performance in the newspaper drama “Spotlight,” told BBC News today that he was “weighing” whether to skip the ceremony. But later in the day, he clarified that he will attend the Oscars “in support of the victims of clergy sexual abuse and good journalism” — the subjects of “Spotlight.”
“I do support the Oscar Ban movement’s position that the nominations do not reflect the diversity of our community,” said Ruffalo.
Following the announcements by Lee and Pinkett Smith, academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs has pledged “dramatic changes” to diversity in the academy’s membership.
Smith, who has been nominated twice before, for 2001’s “Ali” and 2006’s “The Pursuit of Happyness,” said he believes the industry can do better.
“Diversity is the American superpower. That’s why we’re great,” said Smith. “When I look at the series of nominations of the academy, it’s not reflecting that beauty.”
58 responses to “Will Smith joins Oscars boycott, says he won’t attend”
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Who cares. Black people like Will Smith want equality just for their race. They don’t care about other people of color.
True !!!
They don’t like to compete on a level playing field. Which is why “Affirmative Action” reared its ugly head.
Someone is almost certain to demand “Affirmative Action” be applied to the Academy Awards, where a certain percentage of nominees MUST be Black.
There’s some truth to that…I didn’t see any black people boycotting all the years that have gone by with no Asian or Latino actors nominated.
EXACTLY
There’s some truth to that…I didn’t see any of them upset at all, much less boycotting, during all the years that have gone by with no Latino or Asian representation.
Rain or shine. The show must go on!
Waaah! Im not going cuz Im a bigot and an ethnic phobic moron unwilling to see people due to their skin color.
One positive……no black people probably means no Kardashians too.
Killing two birds with one stone. Good one.
Well duhhhhhh! If he didn’t join his wife’s irrational crusade guess what he wouldn’t be getting at night for a long time?
I saw Concussion and Will Smith definitely deserves a nomination. That being said, the show must go on. Blacks can’t handcuff the Academy just because they’re upset.
Matter of opinion Oahuan! I thought his acting was good but not oscar worthy. His accent went in and out and his performance just did not pull me in all the way.
As Martha Stewart would say..”Being black and a racist…is not a good thing”.
I no going attend too.
I could say the same about equal representation in the NBA or the NFL, but that jus would be wrong!
Ok, what % of the Awards should Blacks receive? How about Asians? How about Latinos? How about other minorities? Are there any left over? NO
Hey man, I’m offended you left out the Eskimos. They have feelings too!
I feel animals are also deserving…no matter what BREED! Some animals are the real STARS of a movie… from dogs to horses to pigs to birds etc etc!
Left out allie.
Auwe,mike.
Why are these people complaining? Look at Wikipedia. Numerous Blacks have won top awards and been nominated.
Just, I agree AND THEY WIN ALL OF THE BET’s—never saw a white win–or nominated!!!
You would have to have actually WATCHED the BETs to know that your statement is patently false: http://www.mediaite.com/online/donald-trump-agrees-with-stacey-dashs-amazing-point-about-bet-awards/
I’ll save you the trouble of actually READING. Here’s the pertinent part of the article that shows how, as usual, your bigotry blinds you to the truth:”There have been 14 black actors and actresses who have won Academy Awards in the four major acting categories since the awards began 88 years ago. Since their establishment in 2001, the BET Awards have featured a handful of white nominees like Eminem (nominated 6 times, won once), Justin Timberlake (nominated 8 times), Robin Thicke (nominated three times), Macklemore (nominated 5 times, won once) and Sam Smith, who won but didn’t show up because he assumed a white person wouldn’t win.”
diversity now… segregation never… think this boycott will cause just that – segregation.
Why are blacks so unhappy living in America?
Never cared for the Oscars. Always thought it was a biased show.
Seeing as i’ll be sitting in front of the television and have no friends who are actors, I too will not be represented during the Oscars.
I think that very few if any will lose any sleep if Will and Jada don’t want to attend….the world won’t stop going to the movies just because they’re throwing a tantrum and want attention to themselves….it’s all about themselves….
Look you Yahoos, the issue is about the voting members of the Academy. They are overwhelmingly old, caucasian, fat guys who may not reflect the sensibilities and wishes of mainstream America. (I’m an older very fit white guy and even I get it.)
Aren’t they predominantly Jewish? They did create Hollywood, didn’t they.
whoops! it was either me saying white, fat, or yahoo that got my comment sent scattered as electrons to the universe.
third try: Ladies and gentlemen, look at the profiles of the voting members of the Academy to see if you believe that there might be a gap in the understanding of what constitutes a performance that’s credible for a nomination.
Okay, my fourth try to post on this discussion is simply: ARRROOOOOGAH!served with a side of wangdoodle.
apologize for the multiple posts. Apparently either the human or the machine reading and rejecting posts was unaware that the term “Yahoo” derives from Gulliver’s Travels (1726) by Jonathan Swift>
If you impose a Affirmative Action program in Hollywood, you are saying that black actors are not as good and need
help or special consideration to be considered for an Oscar just as was the case in the 1970″s when Affirmative action
rules were instituted at schools and places of employment to allow certain groups of people of color to be given preference for schools and jobs.
I thought we had moved past this kind of stuff, but I guess not.
(Oh really SA? “Mike” can make multiple posts, totally silly, about “balls” on another thread and I can’t speak to racism as a member of a race?)
All these boycotters are doing is spoiling it for the next nominee of color. From now on people will wonder if the nominee really deserved it or is it to appease the protesters.
Good point!
I have not watched the Academy for years and do not miss it. Having said that the Blacks have to look at themselves and address the issue of having only “Black Events” themselves if they desire acceptance racially. There are several galas similar to the Academy and they emphasize that selection of nominees are restricted to only black performers as the gala name implies. Can think of no other gala that emphasize their specific ethnicity.
I hope this gets into next Saturday’so SNL.
Voters of Oscars – In 2012, the results of a study conducted by the Los Angeles Times were published describing the demographic breakdown of approximately 88% of AMPAS’ voting membership. Of the 5,100+ active voters confirmed, 94% were Caucasian, 77% were male, and 54% were found to be over the age of 60. 33% of voting members are former nominees (14%) and winners (19%)According to Wikipedia.
So based on the overwhelming majority of ‘Caucasion/male/seniors’, if the cast of voters were more representative of different diverse ethnic groups, would the outcome have been much different?
The Smiths’ are attacking the wrong head of the hydra. They should appear and use that as their ‘stage’ to start the conversation. The Oscars system has to be evaluated as the cause.
Just give everyone a participation trophy to avoid someone feeling neglected and discriminated against. People really need to realize everything in life isn’t fair.
There is racism in everything. There is racism present in the fact that very few black actors made it to the nominees. There is also racism in the fact that the assumption is based on the fact that majority of the voters are senior white males as one comment pointed out. There is racism in the fact it was perceived that a white person would vote for a white person. There is racism in the fact that there is belief that bringing diversity to the panel would bring diversity to the nominees. To imply that because there is diversity in the panel would cause people to change their ideology of who they would vote for is ridiculous. Every nominator who takes race into their decision is racist. Every nominator has bias. Every person in this world has bias. To be truly blind to all factors would make it impossible to cast a valid vote. It is great that certain actors show that they are taking a stand on a certain side of the fence. In support or lack thereof. If you want more actors of a specific race having a chance at a nomination. Make more quality movies featuring actors of a specific race. The best actor in the world ain’t going to accomplish much if they are casted in a lame movie. How many times have we seen movies where you thought an actors career was going downhill simply because they acted in that horrible movie. Despite the fact that actor nailed the part, it was still a horrible movie to endure. A lot of actors just pump out movies to keep earnings coming in. They could care less about the quality of the content. Should they get a spot because they stared in five movies this year more so than someone who made one movie in the last 5 years?
Don’t think your reply is to my comment.
Black wives matter.
hahhahahaha
Black is beautiful.
You honestly think that’s amusing?
Of course they do. They’re letting their bigot cards fly… and they’re proud of it.
Yes, proud, anonymous and (glory be) ultimately impotent.
One of the big differences between Diarrhea and many comments on this forum is that with Diarrhea, most people are concerned with where it’s going to land and what the results will be.
HA! One of the two has a longer lasting stink to it as well.
Disagree.
“I feel animals are also deserving…no matter what BREED! .”
There is no difference at all.
actors are so self important. they read lines someone else wrote for a living and people allow them to influence elections, laws, etc. its ridiculous. Maybe I wont watch basketball or football anymore because whites and asians are under represented. These actors are not curing cancer, they are not fighting wars, they are not anything except a bunch of arrogant people that need constant attention. Why isnt Smith using his money to change things like Tyler Perry does. Perry makes movies and TV shows, employes mostly blacks. Smith and Pinket are in it for themselves. And to tell other blacks what to do, and if you dont agree with them you are an Uncle Tom? Get over yourselves
Bet they all going be at home watching the Oscars on TV and be saying, “So and So wasn’t that good to win the award. Should’ve been…” Too bad… Only your opinion.
Boycotters will be at home watching to see who did NOT boycott.
Aren’t they predominantly Jewish? They did create Hollywood, didn’t they.