President Obama said the lack of diversity in the major categories for the 2016 Academy Awards is a systemic problem plaguing Hollywood.
“I think that when everybody’s story is told, that makes for better art,” Obama told ABC7’s David Ono Wednesday night. “That makes for better entertainment. It makes everybody feel like part of one American family.”
He called California “an example of the incredible diversity of this country” and discussed the Oscars dilemma as a symptom of a larger issue.
“So I think, as a whole, the industry should do what every other industry should do, which is to to look for talent and provide opportunity for everybody,” he said. “I think the Oscar debate is really just an expression of this broader issue of: Are we making sure everybody is getting a fair shot?”
The 2016 Oscar nominations were announced Jan. 14, and it was strikingly obvious that all the directing and acting nominees, with the exception of “The Revenant” director Alejandro G. Inarritu, were white for the second year in a row.
The nominations sparked the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag to resurface on Twitter and prompted a national discussion on opportunities for minorities in Hollywood. Many members of the Hollywood elite weighed in on the issue, with some, such as Michael Caine, downplaying the problem, while others such as Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee saying they would boycott this year’s Oscars ceremony on Feb. 28.
GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump gave his take on the controversy Jan. 20.
“It would certainly be nice if everybody could be represented properly,” Trump told “Fox and Friends.” “Hopefully that’s the case, but perhaps it’s not the case.”
