Horror author Stephen King backtracked after being criticized for saying he “would never consider diversity in matters of art.”
Reacting to this year’s list of Oscar nominations, which drew flak for featuring what many called a lack of diversity, the 72-year-old writer and outspoken liberal tweeted, “As a writer, I am allowed to nominate in just 3 categories: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Screenplay. For me, the diversity issue — as it applies to individual actors and directors, anyway — did not come up. That said, I would never consider diversity in matters of art. Only quality. It seems to me that to do otherwise would be wrong.” King’s writing has been adapted into many Hollywood films, such as The Shining, Carrie, and It.
…I would never consider diversity in matters of art. Only quality. It seems to me that to do otherwise would be wrong.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 14, 2020
King, who lives in Bangor, Maine, was met with online backlash. Author Morgan Jenkins, 25, accused King of being “unfair” and guilty of “implicit bias,” tweeting, “When films created by people of color, irrespective of quality, constantly get overlooked by institutions that are predominately comprised of white men, there is an implicit bias at work here.”
With the utmost respect, I think this is quite a bit unfair. When films created by people of color, irrespective of quality, constantly get overlooked by institutions that are predominately comprised of white men, there is an implicit bias at work here.
— Morgan Jerkins (@MorganJerkins) January 14, 2020
Film director Ava DuVernay, 47, said she was dismayed by King’s take on diversity because she admired him. “When you wake up, meditate, stretch, reach for your phone to check on the world and see a tweet from someone you admire that is so backward and ignorant you want to go back to bed,” she wrote.
When you wake up, meditate, stretch, reach for your phone to check on the world and see a tweet from someone you admire that is so backward and ignorant you want to go back to bed. https://t.co/nPXOeAebkb
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) January 14, 2020
Posting nearly three hours after his initial comment, King clarified his position, writing, “The most important thing we can do as artists and creative people is make sure everyone has the same fair shot, regardless of sex, color, or orientation. Right now such people are badly under-represented, and not only in the arts. You can’t win awards if you’re shut out of the game.”
The most important thing we can do as artists and creative people is make sure everyone has the same fair shot, regardless of sex, color, or orientation. Right now such people are badly under-represented, and not only in the arts.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) January 14, 2020
