VETERAN FILMMAKER Spike Lee has announced he and his wife will not be attending the Oscars this year due to the absence of black nominees.
Lee, who was awarded an honorary Oscar for his work in film in November, made the announcement moments ago via his Instagram account.
“How is it possible, for the 2nd consecutive year, all 20 contenders under the actor category are white?,” he asked his 200,000 followers.
“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.”
His post follows that of actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, the wife of Hollywood star Will Smith, who suggested black actors and filmmakers consider boycotting the annual ceremony.
“At the Oscars...people of colour are always welcomed to give out awards...even entertain, (pt. 1),” Pinkett-Smith wrote in the first of a three-post tirade on Twitter over the weekend.
“But we are rarely recognised for our artistic accomplishments. Should people of colour refrain from participating all together? (pt 2)
“People can only treat us in the way in which we allow. With much respect in the midst of deep disappointment. J (pt 3)”
Earlier today (Jan 18), she uploaded a video where she elaborated on sentiments shared in the post.
"Is it time people of colour recognise how much power and influence we have? We no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere," she said in the clip, thought to have been filmed at her home.
“If we respect and acknowledge ourselves in the way we are asking others to do, that is power.”
Every actor and actress to land a nomination at this year’s Oscars is white. Notably snubbed stars including Idris Elba for Beasts of No Nation, Will Smith for Concussion, Michael B. Jordan for Creed, and the cast of Straight Outta Compton, among others.
In his post, Lee thanked “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” and wished host, comedian Chris Rock, and producer Reggie Hudlin the best, but said he was unable to “support it”.
However, my wife, Mrs. Tonya Lewis Lee and I will not be attending the Oscar ceremony this coming February,” he said. “We cannot support it and mean no disrespect to my friends, host Chris Rock and producer Reggie Hudlin, president Isaacs and The Academy.
Lee has joined a growing number of voices to speak out against the lack of diversity at the Oscars, which subsquently sparked the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
British journalist and TV personality Piers Morgan was one of a number of high profile names to join Pinkett-Smith in calling out the “hideously racist” Oscars on the lack of diversity.
"No Oscar nomination for Straight Outta Compton either - which was brilliant," he tweeted after the nominations were announced on Jan 14. "Hollywood remains hideously racist."
"BREAKING NEWS: Oscars Whitewash: 20 acting nominations, no black actors among them. #OscarNoms," he added.
Civil rights campaigner Al Sharpton wrote: “All white Oscar nominations are another example of the lack of diversity in Hollywood. Like the Rocky Mts. The higher u climb the whiter.
“Hollywood has a fraudulent image of progressive and liberal politics and policies. We must take direct action to correct this. Talk is cheap.”
Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs released a statement in the wake of the uproar expressing her own disappointment, but didn’t want it to “take away the greatness [of the films nominated].”
“Of course I am disappointed,” she told Deadline, “but [it is] not to take away the greatness [of the film’s nominated]. This has been a great year in film, it really has across the board. You are never going to know what is going to appear on the sheet of paper until you see it.”
“We have got to speed it up,” she added.
“The Academy Awards is not where the "real" battle is,” Lee went on. “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 I Said In My Honorary Oscar Acceptance Speech, It's Easier For An African-American To Be President Of The United States Than Be President Of A Hollywood Studio,” he added.