Hollywood has again been rocked by racism as "The Academy" is called out for not nominating a single black person for an award. An ever growing list of black stars are threatening to boycott this years Academy Awards, leaving host, Chris Rock, as the only black person in the Dolby (née Kodak) Theater. Jada Pinkett Smith was so furious about her husband, Will, being blackballed (metaphorically speaking) that she is having her own 'Black Oscars' instead.
A plethora of African American movie people are expected to turn out to celebrate the 1st Blackademy Awards and maybe win the coveted prize of a 12 inch gold plated MLK statuette. Even though it is still early in the planning stages, actors who are expected to win awards this year (and every year) include Samuel L. Jackson, Morgan Freeman, Will Smith, and Halle Berry.
Between the four of them, they have appeared in every single movie made in 2015, with the exception of Straight Outta Compton, so they have a strong chance of scooping a couple of MLKies each.
"We as a people deserve to be recognised for our role in society, as well as our part in Hollywood. We have been oppressed throughout our lives and it is time for this oppression to stop." is what Jada Smith might have said if she actually spoke to us. "We cannot wait for The Academy to recognise black talent so we shall start our own Academy, exclusively for actors of color. The Blackademy will recognise and reward the efforts of all members of the film community so long as they are not white, or Tyler Perry."
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Black Hollywood |
Not only is it Jada Pinkett Smith who is on the warpath about blactors, but also daytime TV mouthpiece, Whoopi Goldberg, who is using her personal political platform, 'The View', to complain about the lack of representation of black people on prime time TV. Maybe 'Empire', 'Black-ish', 'How To Get Away With Murder', and 'The Cosby Show' isn't enough for her.
There have been many Oscars awarded to colored people for efforts both in front of and behind the camera, and occasionally there will be years when there are limited nominations, not for reasons of race, but simply the required level of excellence was not achieved. Also there are years when black people totally sweep the Oscars. In 2001 Denzel Washington and Halle Berry both won Best Actor/Actress awards shutting out the white actors. Did anybody stand up and call it racism then?
Incidentally, Jada, you have no right to call foul against your husband, since both times he was actually good enough to be nominated for best actor, he was beaten by a better black actor. Denzel in 2001 and Forest Whitaker in 2006. Seriously, I like Will Smith as an actor, but I am yet to see him give an Oscar worthy performance and that, doesn't make me a racist. Nor does it make Hollywood at large racist either.
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Kanye disagrees with the voters - again |
What do you think about this whole fiasco? Are JPS's feelings based on sound fact or is she just pissed cos hubby was overlooked because of a rotten movie? Will you be boycotting the Oscars in a show of solidarity with The Smiths (Will and Jada, not the 80's band)? Why has Rev. Al Sharpton not got involved in this debate yet? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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