The backlash to the Academy Award nominations only honoring white actors has been strong. Many black celebrities said the Oscars are racist and even started the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite on Twitter. While the academy has promised to change, not everyone is surrendering to the diversity cartel.
Stephen Verona, a gay Latino director who was nominated for an Oscar in 1969, wrote an op-ed in The Hollywood Reporter on Monday that he is outraged by the backlash.
His said that the Academy’s president Cheryl Boone Isaacs and the Board of Governors buckled to the people demanding greater diversity.
The director insisted that talent should stand on its own and described how he helped discover great stars like Sylvester Stallone, Henry Winkler, and Gladys Knight regardless of their race, religion, or sex.
“I never, never hire anyone because of their race, religion or political beliefs,” Verona said in the Hollywood Reporter. “To be lumped in as “racist” by the likes of Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith is totally out of line. I believe talent is what should be honored — gifted individuals who help make movies great.”
Verona said that similar demands would never be asked by other entertainment industries that are heavily dominated by minorities.
“Try telling the NBA to hire more white, Latino, Chinese or Eskimo basketball players and see the backlash,” he continued. “And by the way, why doesn’t Spike Lee return his honorary Oscar if he’s so incensed? If people make better movies, they will be rewarded. That’s as simple as it can be.”
