httpss://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HA0FbEdECEQ
First the actor Jada Pinkett-Smith said she wouldn’t be going in protest.
The British actor Charlotte Rampling, who did make the exclusive list of nominees, made it clear the sentiment was not universal, telling a French radio station that the row was in fact “Racist to white people”.
The bilingual actor told the station Europe 1 she did not understand the anger of those who were calling for a boycott of the ceremony.
“One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list,” said Rampling, who is nominated for best actress for her role in the British film 45 Years.
Mark Ruffalo, nominated for best supporting actor for Spotlight, said he supported reasons behind the plan to boycott the ceremony on 28 February as “The nominations are not representative of our community” – though after mulling over the decision he said he would attend to support victims of child abuse, an issue his film addresses.
“The Academy has a problem,” said the British actor David Oyelowo, addressing an award ceremony last Monday to honour its president, Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday, Michael Caine advised black actors to be patient, and said it had taken him “Years to get an Oscar, years”.
Caine added: “In the end you can’t vote for an actor because he’s black. You can’t say ‘I’m going to vote for him, he’s not very good, but he’s black, I’ll vote for him’. You have to give a good performance and I’m sure people have. I saw Idris Elba … I thought he was wonderful.”