Wednesday, 20 January 2016

Ricky Gervais offers advice to Chris Rock as Oscars host come under pressure amid Academy Awards boycott.

Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais has offered some advice to Oscars host Chris Rock, who is under pressure amid a boycott over the nominees' lack of diversity.
'If I were @chrisrock, I wouldn't be considering boycotting the Oscars,' the controversial British comedian wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.
'I'd be thinking 'this s*** is live. I can do some serious damage.'
The Office star took no prisoners as he hosted the Golden Globes on January 10, hilariously skewering everyone from Mel Gibson, Ben Affleck, Caitlyn Jenner and Angelina Jolie.
Ricky's advice comes after director Spike Lee and actor Jada Pinkett Smith announced they would be boycotting the Academy Awards in protest over the academy's lack of diversity.
No African-American artists were nominated in any of the acting or the directing categories this year, with Creed, Straight Outta Compton and Beast of No Nation among the notable snubs.
The only minority projects nominated - What Happened, Miss Simone? for documentary and Straight Outta Compton for screenplay - have all white nominees.



The controversy has put host Chris, who previously hosted the Oscars in 2005, in a tough spot, as he is also under pressure to step down in protest.
Although the Brooklyn-raised comedian hasn't commented on Ricky's advice, Chris did make a crack about the Academy's lack of diversity, tweeting: 'The #Oscars. The White BET Awards.'
On Monday, honorary Oscar winner Spike and actor Jada have both announced they were boycotting the awards next month.



The 58-year-old Do The Right Thing filmmaker explained his decision in a lengthy Facebook post hashtagged ‪#‎OscarsSoWhite on Monday, which was the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday in the US.
'Dr. King said, 'There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it's right,'' the Chi-Raq director wrote, quoting the heroic civil rights leader.
'How is it possible for the 2nd consecutive year all 20 contenders under the actor category are white? And let's not even get into the other branches. 40 white actors in 2 years and no flava at all. We can't act?! WTF!!'


And while Spike said he was grateful for his honorary Oscar and meant no disrespect to Chris or the organizers, he announced he would be boycotting the event.
Actor Jada Pinkett Smith, who is married to actor Will Smith, also announced her Oscars boycott on Facebook on Monday, explaining, 'We must stand in our power.'
'Begging for acknowledgement or even asking [to be nominated] diminishes dignity. It diminishes power and we are a dignified people and we are powerful. And let's not forget it,' she said.
'So let's let the Academy do them with all grace and love and let's do us differently,' said Jada. 

 
The head of the Academy on Monday said she was 'heartbroken' by the lack of diversity.
'This is a difficult but important conversation, and it's time for big changes,' said president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who is African-American.
Isaacs said that while it was important to acknowledge the work of the actors nominated for the awards being given out on February 28, she was 'both heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion.' 
'The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership,' she said.
'In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond.' 



 


 

No comments:

Post a Comment