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 A week after nominations were announced for the highest
honors in show business, only four stars - Smith, Lee, director
Michael Moore, and Jada Pinkett-Smith - have announced their
intention to stay away from the Feb. 28 ceremony in protest over
long-running lack of diversity in the movie industry.
Be it concern over causing offence, opting to lobby for change
behind the scenes, or a chance to attend the world's biggest
showcase, big stars among 2016 nominees have been largely
silent.
Others, like Oscar winners George Clooney and Lupita Nyong'o,
have called for change but have signaled no intention to stay at
home.
"I think a lot of people in the industry know that the real
problem is with movie studios and agencies. It's not the Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences," said Variety reporter Tim
Gray, who has covered the Oscars for more than 30 years.
Of the class of 2016, Mark Ruffalo, supporting actor nominee for
Catholic Church abuse probe film "Spotlight," said on Thursday
that while he supported calls for diversity, "I will be going to
the Oscars in support of the victims of clergy sexual abuse and
good journalism."
Brie Larson, a first time Oscar nominee for her role in
abduction drama "Room," on Wednesday shared her Hollywood
Reporter magazine cover with Twitter's #Oscarssowhite feed.
"This is a conversation that deserves attention," added Larson,
26, but said nothing to suggest she would boycott the ceremony.
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While Chris Rock has come under pressure from some black celebrities
to step down as Oscars host, the acerbic black comedian may feel he
can do more good by remaining in the game.
"I think this is a great opportunity to reach a worldwide audience
and talk about this issue," Gray said.
Some Latino groups, whose movie talent is also vastly
under-represented historically during awards season, don't support a
boycott.
"Many of the actors who can barely get a role are not about to bite
the hand that feeds them," said Felix Sanchez, chairman of the
National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts.
African American Film Critics Association president Gil Robertson
opposed a boycott, calling the Oscars a well-respected institution
that does a lot of good work.
And double Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman suggested that the United
States has bigger issues to tackle. Hoffman told the BBC "there's a
bigger problem with young black individuals being killed on our
street by police."
(Additional reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Reuters Television in
Los Angeles, and Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by Sandra
Maler)
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