Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith urge Oscars boycott
Listen Live
Listen to East Coast Gold Donate

Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith urge Oscars boycott

Updated | By Natarah Nadesan

After another round of all-white acting nominations, black filmmakers are pushing back on social media.

Oscars boycott

People of color were angry and annoyed when the 2016 Academy Awards nominations were released and all the nominated actors were white.


Now, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, filmmaker Spike Lee and actor Jada Pinkett Smith are urging minority entertainers to withdraw their support from the Oscars in protest.


In a lengthy Instagram message, Spike Lee respectfully declined his invitation to the event:

#OscarsSoWhite... Again. I 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)

A photo posted by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on

He said his phone rings off the hook every year when the Oscar nominations are announced as reporters ask for his thoughts on the lack of African-American talent, and he challenged them to ask the white nominees how they felt about it instead.


Jada Pinkett Smith joined in the discussion with a Facebook video and a series of tweets, suggesting that the Academy could honor and invite whomever they chose, but black actors and filmmakers could also show their power by choosing not to participate.

We must stand in our power.

Posted by Jada Pinkett Smith on Monday, January 18, 2016

Jada then took it to twitter:

Show's Stories

© 2024 Kagiso Media Ltd. All rights reserved.