After the Oscar nominations were revealed, there was a huge backlash as many felt the selections were not diverse enough. These 5 celebrities have commented on how they believe Hollywood is still very racist and needs to make major changes to ensure equality and fairness.
Danny Devito
Danny believes the problem is huge and can be seen in the film industry: “It’s unfortunate that the entire country is a racist country. This is one example of the fact that even though some people have given great performances in movies they weren’t even thought about. We are living in a country that discriminates and has certain racist tendencies so sometimes it’s manifested in things like this and it’s illuminated. But just generally speaking we’re racists. We are a bunch of racists.”
Ian Mckellan
Ian sees that many people are being forgotten by Hollywood: “It’s not only black people who’ve been disregarded by the film industry, it used to be women, it’s certainly gay people to this day. And these are all legitimate complaints and the Oscars are the focus of those complaints of course.”
Lupita Nyong’o
Lupita was disappointed by the academy for not being inclusive of everyone: “I am disappointed by the lack of inclusion in this year’s Academy Awards nominations. It has me thinking about unconscious prejudice and what merits prestige in our culture. The Awards should not dictate the terms of art in our modern society, but rather be a diverse reflection of the best of what our art has to offer today. I stand with my peers who are calling for change in expanding the stories that are told and recognition of the people who tell them.”
Mark Ruffalo
Mark says the problem of racism extends to the whole American system: “It isn’t just the Academy Awards. The entire American system is rife with white privilege racism. It goes into our justice system. I’m weighing it, yes. That’s where I’m at right now. I woke up in the morning thinking, ‘What is the right way to do this?’ Because if you look at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy, what he was saying was the good people who don’t act are much worse than the wrongdoers who are purposely not acting and don’t know the right way.”
Viola Davis
Viola believes the whole film industry is racist: “The problem is not with the Oscars, the problem is with the Hollywood movie-making system. How many black films are being produced every year? How are they being distributed? The films that are being made, are the big-time producers thinking outside of the box in terms of how to cast the role? Can you cast a black woman in that role? Can you cast a black man in that role? The problem isn’t even our pay. You could probably line up all the A-list black actresses out there [and] they probably don’t make what one A-list white woman makes in one film. That’s the problem. You can change the Academy, but if there are no black films being produced, what is there to vote for?”
