Speaking to “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts this morning, Will Smith essentially said that he will join wife Jada Pinkett-Smith in not attending the Academy Awards ceremony next month, in protest over the lack of diversity among this year’s nominees – notably, Smith himself, who some thought was guaranteed a Best Actor nomination for his work in "Concussion" (I may have been in the minority who didn’t feel that his performance deserved a nomination).
Smith (a Hollywood superstar actor with power and influence who happens to be black, with over 20 feature films on his resume, but who has never worked with a black filmmaker) joins a chorus of 2016 Academy Awards dissenters who are putting pressure on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences to address its diversity problem.
“My wife’s not going. It would be awkward for me to show up with Charlize [Theron]… We’ve discussed it. We’re part of this community. But at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say that this is OK,”
Smith said when Roberts asked him whether he’d be joining his wife in the so-called boycott.
Watch the full interview below:
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