Jada Pinkett Smith is asking whether people of colour should boycott Academy Award ceremonies after the entire nominations list was made up of white actors for the second year in a row.
The Magic Mike XXL actress criticised organisers for inviting black and ethnic minority actors to hand out awards and perform at ceremonies while not recognising their achievements.
“Should people of colour refrain from participating all together?” she asked on Saturday. “People can only treat us in the way in which we allow. With much respect in the midst of deep disappointment.”
The lack of representation for BME people was roundly criticised by members of the film industry and saw the 2015 #OscarSoWhite hashtag re-emerge after the nominations were announced on Thursday.
African-American filmmaker Reginald Hudlin, who will produce the ceremony on 28 February, condemned the result as “tragic”.
“In a year with an extraordinary number of great performances by black actors that were embraced by audiences and embraced by critics, for them all to get ignored is tragic,” he said.
The N.W.A biopic Straight Outta Compton was hotly tipped for a Best Picture nod but was nominated only for best screen play, which was written by three white people. Rapper Ice Cube, a producer on the film, said he was unsurprised by the result. “It's the Oscars,” he said during an appearance on Wendy Williams. “They do what they do.”
