23 thoughts on “Is Jada Pinkett Smith’s Banishment of The Oscars Flawed?”

1. I semi agree with Jada, but I have to say that we have been putting our money back into our own resources and recognizing our own. We have more different types of awards shows past and present. Soul Train Awards, BET Awards, Source Awards, Black Movie Awards, etc. I have never understood how the Academy Awards is put on top of the hill for so many years. They are always boring and every time I speak to someone no one ever watches. I wholeheartedly agree, we should never have to ask or beg to be invited to the party when we throw the best parties ever!

2. Chh.. all this faux outrage.

3. I’m with Jussie on this one. Like who cares?More problems in the world, and if our own shows are “ghetto” etc. then honestly, that’s our own fault for making it that way. If we want a classy and glamorous award show that represents us in a positive light, then we need to find a way to make that happen. The responsibility is on US to represent US. End of discussion.

4. @Zen, there were other reasons why Claudette Colvin wasn’t the catalyst in the Civil Rights movement. One of the reasons Claudette believes is the leaders at the time thought she was too militant for them. They wanted someone more genteel. It didn’t help that Claudette had a child out of wedlock…reportedly with a married man. She was the star witness when it time for the federal lawsuit Browder v. Gayle.

   1. Were Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. perfect? No! Malcolm was a convict and Martin had multiple affairs. Didn’t stop either one from being celebrated.

      I really hope it wasn’t the fact that she was too militant. What else would you want a woman to be but militant during those times.

5. All do respect Jamari, I think you are wrong in some of what you said about jada. Bet Award , Hip Hop Awards , Soul train awards, are all music. If I was an actor I wouldn’t go either. The only reason white actors go to those MTV shit heaps is either because they are nominated or presenting. Maybe with a small exception. She went to Bet black girls rock were she was actually relevant. Im with Jada on this one. Maybe I’m a little boogie but I feel wit she saying

6. Yet another thought-provoking post Jamari. Personally, regardless of Jada’s views (which are valid to an extent), it honestly would not surprise me if this all was just another Hollywood distraction to take the general public’s attention away from more pressing human concerns (like the water crisis in Flint, MI).

7. No offense, but Jada doesn’t really act as much anymore, much less in movies. She was good in Gotham though.

   Maybe I’d take the issue more seriously if I could think of a performance by a black person that blew me away this year, but I can’t.

   Hell, I’m one of the few that think Jennifer Hudson didn’t deserve an Academy Award.

8. I thought they didn’t see color? I thought all girls rock and not just black girls at the Black Girls Rock concert? I thought it was okay for having white women to don Essence Magazine? Didn’t Will say there is no racism in Hollywood and only prejudice? Jada is full of shit. White people have been showing us they don’t like to play fair, but will expect blacks to always be slaves they still see us as. Puh lease!

9. im gonna sit this right here….

   http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/watch-idris-elba-delivers-speech-to-uk-parliament-on-lack-of-opportunities-for-black-british-talent-20160118

10. Same can be said about white women. How many of them are gonna keep complaining about not getting paid as much as their male costars or not being able to be leads or direct before they realize they have just as much power as white men do. Hell Julia Roberts got paid one million dollars to do a commercial, a COMMERCIAL, over in Germany or somewhere. But I’m supposed to believe she or no other actresses can hire a female director to direct a female lead film that goes on to make millions at the box office. How many of them are gonna complain about Hollywood’s ageism against female actresses who are 40 or older before they come together and start making their own movies.

11. While Jada has a valid point, this should come as no surprise to anyone. We have ventured off to create our own award programs for the lack of being represented fully in the mainstream award ceremonies. Black people have a number of actors and actresses that do not get the recognition deserved, but whose fault is that? We have to do better and show more support to our black films if we want to be recognized for the hard work.

    I have no doubt that if there was more diverse in Hollywood or if Will Smith had been nominated for something then this would not be a topic of discussion from Jada.

    The Oscars have been this way since the beginning…one or two blacks here or there nominated just to make it seem like it’s fair across the board and to shut up the voices that will speak out against them.

12. JAMARI SAY THAT!!!!! I respect her opinion and agree with what she said but why hasn’t this been realized long ago!?? Why does it take a few Black people being nominated for Oscars (who would not have won anyway) for people to realize that we need to support our own? Other races have been doing it for centuries. We have our own organizations, neighborhoods, institutions, schools, etc. and abandon them as soon as we start feeling ourselves. You’re absolutely right. The finger must be turned inward in certain situations.

13. I wouldn’t be too upset if Will was nominated and she chose to be quiet. I can’t shame her for being a ride or die chick. That’s a “what if” and doesn’t take away from her point though. I think this was a nice message. Jada is intelligent and still looking good!

    The point of most of the awards you named are there simply because blacks got tired of never getting awards. Even then, BET has no problems if there’s a popular white artist in rap or hip hop.
    She’s not talking down on a person for accepting something, she’s talking about people that support and make those awards seem so official.

14. Much ado about nothing IMO.Yes I would like to see diversity in the Oscar noms but it’s not a pressing issue to me.I rarely watch the Oscars anyway.Jussie Smollett just posted on IG,”Let’s talk about the lead poisoned water in Flint Michigan rather than golden statues…”Too many people major in the minor stuff IMO.Will the State of the Black Community be changed because one or two actors are nominated for an Oscar? I prefer watching NAACP awards anyway rather than play count the blacks in the audience at the Oscars.

    I didn’t watch this video but I wonder if she addressed the statement Will made in November that “Racism is Rare in Hollywood”.He said he thinks Hollywood execs may be prejudice but not racist.My view is what difference does it make if they don’t want to hire People of Color because they prefer White people.

    1. ^so question,
       and not to sound ignorant,
       but why is it that only the mixed stand up harder for black rights than “us”?
       jussie is mixed,
       but goes super hard for the community.
       jesse williams as well.
       yet it’s crickets and tumbleweeds with our own,
       especially the darker shades.
       ive started to notice this…

       is it because they aren’t threatening?

       1. Jesse did an interview with the Guardian last year where he talked about the advantages of being biracial.How he has access to rooms that many Black people don’t.So he can hear what Black people say about Whites and what Whites say about Blacks.He is sort of invisible especially to Whites.He talked about an experience where a White lady talked about Black people in front of him when he was 12.When he confronted her she basically said she wasn’t talking about him but real Black people.I think because he has this advantage of looking White,he feels more responsibility.

          As for Jussie ,he grew up with a Black mother who is an activist .She had him participate in a march when he was 6 ,to protest murder of Yusef Hawkins.She had her kids volunteering for AIDS organizations when they were kids.He was raised to be an activist.

       2. Jamari, what black people are you thinking about? John Boyega, Lupita Nyongo, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kerry Washington, Naomi Campbell, Viola Davis, hell Taraji just won a Golden Globe… So I don’t know if it’s necessarily true that only “mixed” people are calling out racism. Diahann Caroll is light-skinned, but is fully black and was breaking all the barriers. So was Harry Belafonte.

       3. Jamari look up the story of Claudette Colvin. She was a black girl who refused to give up her seat on the bus. Rosa Parks was not the first but because she was light, they decided to use her as a face for the civil rights movement. That’s probably the reason why the majority of our “black” heroes are of a lighter complexion.

          We know about MLK and Malcolm X but barely if ever hear about Marcus Garvey. I didn’t know who he was until I got older. Sad to say even today only the light/mixed ones get attention for taking up such causes.

          Like you mentioned us giving a white girl a “complimentary negro” card for being able to shake her ass. We do the same for mixed race people. Darker shades speak up for black people’s rights all the time. You’re just not listening. The foxhole was here for Claudia when Nene called her a “half-breed.” But I heard crickets when Kenya was insulted for being a dark skinned woman. Not to mention the slanderous shit Claudia herself said about dark skinned people.

15. She said almost the damn near same as this YouTuber TriniTrent who also said black people should stop begging for Oscars which I agree with both of them because this isnt the first time that zero black/poc actors that got nominated. This is a white award show for white people.
    Here the link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkJLabxvxYg

16. Yuo make a very good point, J. We always seem to want to “accomodate” others, but yet we constantly get the door slammed in our faces when it comes to entertainment and media. How many black directors are there? How many black “superstars” are there? Why is it that a “black story” can’t fill movie theaters as Hollywood execs seem to believe, thus turning them away from black films? How many black head coaches are there?
    That being said…if a lot of these prominent entertainers/athletes spoke up and stood together, perhaps Hollywood and owners would take notice. A lot of them say nothing becaus they don’t want to jeopardize their earnings (and in a way, who can blame them) but THEY have to be the ones to speak up. Not their spouses, friends, family, etc.

    1. ^so it all leads back to who is to blame?
       we can blame everyone else,
       but sometimes we need to look in the mirror and ask where we played a part as well?
       im not saying we don’t get un-faired.
       as blacks,
       we will always feel the racism,
       but we have shown we are a powerful race.
       we need to work on our demons and insecurities to truly rise as a people.
       s’all im saying.

       1. No doubt. As a race, we definitely need to learn to stick together. We are quick to pull our own down when they become or try to become successful. When we overcome that aspect, we could be VERY dangerous…and not in the criminal way that white society likes to frame us in. My comment was not to put the blame on anyone per se, but if these “powerful” figures made their voices heard, they probably could make a significant impact. You have many programs on TV with all-white casts with the token black/latino character. If a black show is on TV, and once it becomes successful, everyone is crying that there is no diversity in the cast. So the producers and writers feel pressured into creating a role/roles for other races. It’s a power thing, with Hollywood pulling the strings. I saw Oprah’s interview with George Lucas and he spoke about the time he took the idea of Red Tails, the movie about the Tuskegee Airmen, to the major studios in Hollywood and was told that they would not finance the film because a film with a majority African American cast would not “fill the seats”. He financed the film with his own money. When I heard that, it made me mad. You copy us, you market to us…but our stories and ideas are not worthy of being heard/seen?

          Now as far as playing a part in the matter, perhaps that’s true. I just might be a part of the “problem” because I don’t go to the movies often, and when I do, I go to see the sci-fi and action movies. I’m not the type to spend my money on comedies and dramas any longer. I wait for them to come out on DVD now. Part of that was because the movies would be a big let-down or there were no films/stories that caught my eye. No matter who the actor/actress is…if I don’t want to see your movie, I won’t. No matter what your skin color is. I think Titanic was the last drama I saw in the theaters, and that was because the story always fascinated me, not Leonardo DiCaprio or Kate Winslet.

          We will always be reminded by the “powers that be” come awards season that our roles mean nothing to them. Oscars are not chosen by the fans, nor are the Grammys. They are chosen by a committee of their “peers”, which equates to a room of primarily old white men. That being said, since their were no crackhead, maid, driver or thug roles (outside of Straight Outta Compton) played excellently this year…there was no reason to nominate anyone of color. We only get nominations when stereotypical roles are played well. There have been a few exceptions over the years, but that is primarily the viewpoint of many.

          Even if these actors, actresses, athletes were to join together to create a studio…they would still probably face the same problems with the Academy. We’ll take your money, but we won’t give you recognition.

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