After nominations were announced Thursday morning, many quickly took
note of the fact that for the second consecutive year, all 20 acting
nominees are white. Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said she was “disappointed” by the results as well, and on Saturday Smith also responded on social media.“At the Oscars…people of color are always welcomed to give out awards…even entertain, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic accomplishments,” she wrote on her Facebook and Twitter pages. “Should people of color refrain from participating all together? People can only treat us in the way in which we allow. With much respect in the midst of deep disappointment, J.”
Pinkett Smith’s husband, Will Smith, is one of the contenders who missed out on an Oscar nomination this year (for his role in Concussion), along with Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation), Michael B. Jordan (Creed), Oscar Isaac (Ex Machina), Benicio Del Toro (Sicario), Tessa Thompson (Creed), and Jason Mitchell (Straight Outta Compton). Creed and Straight Outta Compton were also left off this year’s list of nominees for Best Picture.
Will Packer, one of the producers of Straight Outta Compton, also addressed the lack of representation in this year’s nominees.” “To my Academy colleagues, WE HAVE TO DO BETTER. Period,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Friday. “The reason the rest of the world looks at us like we have no clue is because in 2016 it’s a complete embarrassment to say that the heights of cinematic achievement have only been reached by white people. I repeat — it’s embarrassing.”