The 88th Academy Awards made history as actor Leonardo DiCaprio won his first ever Oscar, but it’s not DiCaprio’s golden statue that has the acting community chattering. After over 50years of business, the Oscars’ organisers are yet to tackle the race factor. Many A list stars like Jada Pinkett-Smith and her spouse boycotted the ceremony this year due to the lack of diversity in nominations, which didn’t include any performers of colour.
The black community seems to be divided in not the problem but solution, stars like Whoopi Goldberg are against the boycott stating, “Boycotts to me are a pain in the butt. If you want to boycott don’t go see the movies. If we are not here, then we’re really not here.”
While others may be of the opinion that black people have the BET Awards and don’t nominate white people like actress Stacy Dash and Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. The black oriented awards show actually appreciates all performers, with nominees and winners ranging from the likes of Sam Smith to Iggy Azalea. The comparison is pitiful to the Oscars and only fuels the frustration of the black community with so many deserving black acts.
The host of the ceremony this year, Chris Rock joked about the situation in a bid to lighten up the mood but was faced with a response to take the matter seriously from Jada Pinkett-Smith. The topic of racial discrimination is not an easy one and the public can only hope the Oscars hype of next year will bring with them a positive buzz.
