Oscar Racism Problem
Will Smith: Jada Pinkett Smith would've boycotted Oscars even if I was nominated
Actor Will Smith insists his wife would be boycotting the Oscars even if he had received an Academy Award nomination.
There was no need for Jada Pinkett Smith to worry about such a moral dilemma, however, once the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences revealed last month that for the second straight year not a single actor of color had been nominated.
Going into awards season, many prognosticators predicted that Smith would receive a best actor nomination for his work in the drama, "Concussion."
"If I had been the only person of color that had been nominated, my wife would have made two videos," the A-lister said on BBC Radio 1's "Breakfast Show With Nick Grimshaw" Wednesday morning .
"She would not have gone with me. Trust."
Jada Pinkett instead became one of the first high-profile celebrities to announce she would not be attending or watching the Feb. 28 ceremony to protest the lack of diversity in the industry.
She was so passionate about her stance that she published her video announcement to her Facebook followers before she told her husband.
"I was out of the country when she made the video," Smith told BBC Radio 1. "I was in Thailand, and the paparazzi (were like), 'Will, Will, you're not going to the Oscars, what do you think about Jada's video...'"
"I had no idea. I'm like, 'Babe, you gotta give a fella a little heads up,' you know?"
Smith further explained he played catchup by Googling the videos from his car after exiting the airport.
As the #OscarsSoWhite movement has galvanized support on social media, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences president Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced sweeping changes to the membership process. But the Smiths still don't plan on going back on their boycott.
"The images that we deliver from Hollywood have to push America," said Will Smith. " Diversity is the American superpower. That's what makes us great."
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/movies/smith-jada-boycotted-oscar-nom-article-1.2518991