Concussion actor Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith are boycotting the Oscars due to a lack of diversity, and while some have thrown shade on the star by claiming his stance is little more than sour grapes after not receiving a nomination this year, he insists nothing could be further from the truth.
In a recent interview with Europa Press, Smith discusses why he and his wife will not be attending this year’s Academy Awards.
“I consider the Hollywood community my extended family. So to me, there is a problem that we, as a Hollywood community, as a Hollywood family, have to solve, and we’re going to work really hard to make it right,” Smith, 47, explains. “Family is everything for me. The reason to do everything that I do is be able to have love”;
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He continues: “This is completely not about me. I didn’t feel hurt. To me it is much more about eliminating the beauty of what makes America and what makes Hollywood great,”; he adds. “And diversity is our superpower. I don’t believe that we can allow it to slip away from the beauty of the diversity and the cultural rainbow that is America. I think Hollywood needs to not only reflect that, but Hollywood needs to lead in the creation of that imagery. So I want to leave a more colourful and diverse Hollywood than the one I found.”
Watch the full interview below.
