This year’s Oscar nominations — completely overlooking actors of color in all major categories — have sparked one of the biggest controversies in the history of the Academy, leading to widespread outrage and a celeb-led boycott of the February 26 show.
Opinions have been pouring out of Hollywood over this lack of diversity, and Us Weekly has rounded up the most notable stars that have spoken out so far.
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith have all publicly called for a boycott and have made it known that they will not be attending this year's ceremony.
Smith told Good Morning America on January 21, “No [I will not attend]. We’ve discussed it. We are a part of this community. We’re uncomfortable to stand there and say that this okay.”
Will Smith and Michael Caine Robin Marchant/Getty Images; Mike Marsland/WireImage
While some choose to boycott, other stars, like Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon and Lupita Nyong’o, are advocating hard for institutional changes — and the Academy accordingly responded with a statement on Friday afternoon. It said its board has approved “substantive changes designed to make the Academy’s membership, its governing bodies, and its voting members significantly more diverse.”
Some celebrities, however — like George Clooney, Dustin Hoffman and Whoopi Goldberg — argue that the problem extends far beyond the Academy.
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“You wanna boycott something? Don't go see the movies that don't have your representation,” Goldberg said on The View.
Yet another contingent of boldfaced names, including Stacey Dash, Michael Caine and Charlotte Rampling, take issue with the protests. Best Actress nominee Rampling made waves when she told French radio station that “It is racist to whites. One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list.”
To see what all of the stars have said about the Oscars 2016 controversy, watch the video above.
Christina's Wardrobe Credit: H&M.
