I get that not everyone likes or enjoys Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, but can we agree on something? Like, Will Smith is a major movie star for a reason. He’s incredibly charismatic. I was reminded of that while watching his interview on Good Morning America on Thursday. Will stopped by GMA to discuss his wife’s boycott of the Oscars and the subsequent backlash. And while I defended Jada previously, I have to say that if she wants people on her side, she just needs to send Will out there to speak on her behalf. He has all the charisma in that family. Here’s the video:
Some assorted quotes:
He wasn’t part of Jada’s video but he supports it: “I was out of the country at the time, and I came home [and said], ‘What happened?’ She’s deeply passionate, and when she’s moved, she has to go. I heard her words, and I was knocked over. I was happy to be married to that woman. I appreciated the push. There’s a position that we hold in this community, and if we’re not a part of the solution, we’re a part of the problem. It was her call to action for herself, for me and for our family to be a part of the solution.”
The two times Will has been Oscar nominated, he lost to black men: “That was huge. So when I see this list and series of nominations that come out — everybody is fantastic, and that’s the complexity of this issue. Everyone is beautiful and deserving and is fantastic, but it feels like it’s going the wrong direction. It reflects a series of challenges we’re having in our country at the moment. There’s a regressive slide toward separatism.”
The regressive slide: “The nominations reflect the Academy, the Academy reflects the industry… and the industry reflects America. There’s a regressive slide toward separatism, toward racial and religious disharmony.”
He says Jada isn’t just mad about Will’s snub: “For Jada, had I been nominated and no other people of color were, she would have made the video anyway. This is so deeply not about me. This is about children that are going to sit down and they’re going to watch this show and they’re not going to see themselves represented.”
He won’t attend the Oscars without Jada: “It would be awkward for me to show up with Charlize [Theron]. We’ve discussed it and we’re a part of this community, but at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say that this is OK.”
Yeah, I think he’s telling the truth, and I think this is what he really believes. I also think that Jada’s video wasn’t his call, but after days of seeing his wife attacked, Will decided to get out in front and talk about it. While Will hasn’t been a major player in Hollywood for a few years, he’s still well-liked within the industry, in America and in the world (he’s a majorly bankable African-American star internationally). For Will to sit here and call out the Academy – and as he makes clear, the industry – it’s a big deal.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Please, I read that his company never hires black directors , always white ones.
On dlisted they actually had a list yesterday and yes, his company is making pretty “white” movies, with the exception of him and his son.
While Will makes some good points (as we have pretty much all said lately on this topic) it is hard to take him seriously when: 1. He and Jada have never spoken on the topic before, it is pretty obvious why suddenly this is an issue for them the year he expected to get nominated and didn’t. 2. He should lead by example; so far, he hasn’t. 3. When he talks about leaving a legacy I just snickered. Coming from someone whose son is the poster boy for nepotism, elitism and being a master word salad chef, that is rich. Perhaps he should pay a bit more attention to his own household and worry less about his film legacy. 4. The pretence that he didn’t know Jada was making and releasing this video is eye roll inducing to the max.
He lost me at “For Jada, had I been nominated and no other people of color were, she would have made the video anyway. This is so deeply not about me.”
And if I was Will Smith, I would attend the Awards… and bring Dr. Bennet Omalu as my date. But then I’ve never gone for subtle.
I would bring Dr Cornell West! Love that guy.
I agree with him about the regressive slide and it’s not just in America, it’s happening around the world and we have to approach the subject.
For me, it’s the last desperate onslaught by people who will soon be relegated to the bowels of history. Its California ca. Prop 8. Within a decade, gay marriage was federal law.
yes, it’s scary to see it play out in other nations on such a visceral level.
Charisma? Where?
It was the least articulate response I’ve ever seen. It screamed PR-prepared on the fly.
I’ve been watching The Hollywood Roundtable with him, Michael Caine, Joel Edgerton, Mark Ruffalo, Benicio del Toro, and Samuel L. Jackson and Will is the least articulate among them. Second most talkative behind SLJ but least articulate. Among that group, he comes off as a bit of a lightweight but an amiable, crowdpleaser, which I think has been his persona for years. There’s a place for that and it works for him.
He came across as really odd in that. He talks like a self help guru. That works in a one on one interview where the interviewer is playing along and matching his energy, but it’s weird when he’s in a room full of people having an actual conversation, and he’s basically just patronizing them with his ‘wisdom’. I loved the way that Jackson kept gently calling him out and making jokes after Will obviously thought he’d said something deeply insightful.
It’s not remotely hard to see why his children are the way that they are.
@Pepper, SLJ came off as the patient elder statesman, who would listen and then gently but firmly correct. Will lacked the gravitas of the others and Benicio seemed to look at him a few times as if to say “WTF?” It was interesting that he was the only one who didn’t begin in the theater and he tried to equate filming Fresh Prince in front of an audience with theater work but the others weren’t having that. As I said above, he has a carefully crafted persona that he can market. There’s a place for that in cinemas
Can I just say how awesome it is that Joel Edgerton is finally get some props and a seat at the table?
I thought he was very inarticulate. If I was told English is not his first language, I would have believed.
Will Smith seems like a stand up guy to me. In all the years he’s been around, I don’t recall any scandals or negativity surrounding him. Now I believe he is being the same faithful person by defending his wife and her opinions. Hollywood has a lot of work to do to clean up their white wash of good characters in movies. This year he wasn’t nominated and like others who felt they were deserving of a nomination, it probably wasn’t a happy moment for him. But…I think Jada took it very personally and spoke out on her emotions, along with her genuine feelings. This year the Oscars will be a shame on us event, but will it take time to make things right. I hope Will keeps his head held up high, as he is still the Prince and most of us love him.
Had he been nominated, I don’t buy that Jada would be doing the same thing because it would hurt his “campaign.” In fact, I bet they’d incorporate the negative press about him being the only minority nominated into his campaign. That’s how cynical I am about the movie industry.
I get the sentiment behind the boycott ad appreciate it, but I’m not going to pretend that these two are above the Hollywood system just because Will insists so.
Exactly.
I cannot stand the Smiths. They are nauseating.
LOL, I love your screenname, ROFL!
Thanks J-Who!
🙂
Yes I don’t buy any of this. Per @vauvert post above outlining reasons. They are speaking out because he isn’t nominated. That’s all.
Agreed.
Unfortunately for him he and his wife are deeply unpopular right now with a lot of Americans. It’s Jada’s doing not his but her aggressive posturing has hurt him badly. And a lot of people will hold his wife’s behaviour against him. I bet his next movie does badly at the box office.
Aggressive posturing? Wth is that supposed to mean?
are they? (I’m outside the U.S.) Like many people, I suspect Jada feels strong disappointment/anger that Will wasn’t nominated and THAT is what is fueling her assertion on the issue. That behavior may be unpleasant, but it’s not unforgivable (for me). I’m not so sure it will hurt them long time. A percentage of her audience will have short memories.
@Petra
Dont agree with Jada but see no “aggressive posturing “from her
Is that your code word for “angry black woman ” simply because a black woman dared to speak up even using the most measured tones ?
Yeah I was quite taken aback by the aggressive posturing comment myself and that’s the impression the comment gives.. how dare she speak up?
I think it is code for that. A white male speaking in the same tone would never be accused of “aggressive posturing.”
Most people don’t pay much attention to the Oscars. It looms large for the actors themselves because it’s their profession and because they live on camera, the awards are televised. But with the multitude of entertainment available today, I doubt that too many people are glued to their living room chairs watching the ceremony on TV. It was different when there were just a few channels. Likewise many people pay no attention to tabloids and have no particular opinion about the Smiths. So I doubt that many people would avoid his movies because of the things that are bothering people here.
I like him, but I’m not sure I agree that Hollywood reflects America. I think Hollywood is way out of touch with America, unless by America you mean 15 year old boys.
GNAT: Yep. Actors have such huge egos and this time of year with all the shows awarding themselves, they get even bigger. They do not represent America, they represent giving us something to do on weekends, go to the movies. Certainly they don’t represent the blight of middle class white or black Americans just trying to get to the next paycheck. They are pampered and cry because they didn’t get an Oscar. What a nightmare, please………
I could not agree more with this. Hollywood has been proven time and time again NOT to represent America. But this is the sentiment one gets when they live in a bubble like actors of Will Smith’s stature in life. I still am at a loss that this is all because of an Oscar. There are bigger areas of injustice going on. And to the bigger point, what are these people doing to help right the wrongs they see in the word. Are the Smith’s working actively to promote more minority-oriented films and actors? Nope.
I listened to that and understood less than 10 percent of what he said. It was a word salad. An articulate one, but still a word salad.
All of his comedic films have at least one cheap, homophobic joke (at least in the trailers) so I have never been a fan of Smith.
And his ‘serious’ films seem like they’re factory designed strictly to win Oscars. I burst out laughing at the CONCUSSION trailer when he screamed ‘Tell the truth, the truth!’ I could just see Will thinking that would be the moment that would seal his Oscar.
Charisma, sure. Acting talent? Eh….
He was very good in Ali or this movie with his tiny son
Will’s best movie remains Six Degrees of Separation. Before he became a Hollywood Stah and bought into his own hype. Still and all I like him. He has to murder puppies or something for me to not like him anymore.
The Oscars of 2018 will be the ones to watch to see if any changes will happen in Hollywood. Not 2017, which could be a case of changes being done because the Oscar academy/voters hate being in the spotlight and not really serious addressing the issues that have been raised. Hopefully there will be changes for the better
Will played it very safe with his comments… He’s never been one to rock the boat or makes waves. But I’m still glad he’s finally spoken out.
I STILL haven’t heard even one good reason for people to hate Jada the way they do. I hope she keeps speaking her mind and making people uncomfortable and I hope she continues saying things that people don’t want to admit or think about. Regardless of motive and regardless what you think of her, she spoke TRUTH.
For all the people who are just in the past few years getting to know Jada because of Will or through her children, you need to stop saying that she’s never spoken about things like this. Jada has ALWAYS been vocal in the black community and she’s always speaking out and giving, even more so during the 90s. You just haven’t been paying attention to her, that’s all.
I don’t understand the hate or backlash myself…maybe it’s because she’s successful & wealthy & that scares people?
Tammy: I’m really not sure. It’s very interesting.
Hate is a prettying word. I dislike her for being a hypocrite (did she ever boycott the awards before! No. Does Will’s company actually lead by example in hiring minorities? No. Did Will act with a black female costar in Focus? No, she was a white, blond, two decades younger woman. I also dislike the way she took to social media berating the critics who spoke up after pics of Willow were posted, lying on a bed with a much older guy. Her parenting is terrible, and yes, I judge. I don’t care about her wealth, all stars are. The “jelly haters” is a pretty tired argument….
Vauvert: I hear what you’re saying, but 1. She didn’t boycott the awards 2. What does will having a white costar one time have to do with the matter at hand? 3. Jada shouldn’t be held accountable for what Will decides for his company. But he DID remake Annie and he also had his own show called All Of Us and the stars of it were minority 4. I don’t agree with her parenting either but again, this has nothing to do with the matter at hand and 5. I never said people were “jelly haters,” I don’t even use that phrase. Never once did I say people were jealous of her. I just feel people are disregarding her words because they don’t like her and her children.
I agree. Plus, she and Will own a large production company. Do they make “black” movies? Do they hire “black” actors? Nope. They ARE Hollywood. Just because something happened (or didn’t happen), they put the blame everywhere but themselves.
Don’t forget her tacit support of the $cientologists. What do you think about families getting ripped apart over a faux religion? How about those minions working for free for your best friend, Tommy?
I don’t have a bone regarding this issue. I just do not like Jada period. Yes, Will should have made that announcement. There would probably be less backlash against them if he was the spokesperson.
Totally agree with you regarding Jada. She has always spoke out but as you stated people just weren’t paying any attention.
If Hwood was promoting more diversity both in front & behind the camera then come awards season there would be a wider range of POC/ women to pick from. As Viola said. People cant win awards for roles that arent there .The Oscars are the symptom and not the root cause and this annual faux concern means nothing if that doesn’t change
Also I have been paying attention to Will and Jada which is exactly why its hard to get behind them on this ,
1)In OK UK mag interview just a few mths ago yr , asked whether he thought ‘Selma’ was snubbed Will said: ”You know, my brain doesn’t even work like that. I don’t think of it in terms of snubbed and things like that. People vote for the movies that they want to vote for and they have that right.” (But now its a problem right )
2) Just this past November In HRT, Will also indicated that He and Jada has discussed it and “racism is rare” and he has made similar comments in the past
3) Jada was awarded at last Yrs ” Black Girls Rock an org to uplift/ highlight the achievements of little Black girls that constantly gets trolled by people claiming that its racist, What does Jada do? show up , collect the peoples awards and promptly go home and tweet the shows opponents message #allgirlsrock which is the tone deaf equivalent of #alllivesmatter
4)Not to mention her insisting that white women should be on the cover of Essence and her Four page Essay defending Justin Beiber in the height of his worst behavior ???
There may be some validity to their concerns but their motivation is purely selfish and that is what is turning people off
While it’s hard to get behind Jada & Will specifically on anything, I think Jada is making a valid point.
I don’t like him because of his little arrogant son. Make it stop.
I agree about the son but the poor guy really never stood a chance. With the Scientology, parents who have no formal education and inflated views of themselves and their place in the world, I expect bigger problems in the future for Jaden and his sister.
Maybe the Acadmy could cancel all Academy memberships and ask interested parties to re-apply or apply. That way they could ensure that the new membership was more diverse.
the org needs to open more their memberships to others cultures .In my opinion,diversity is not just skin-color
Cannes isn’t perfect, but even in it’s crappiest years it does a far, far better job of rewarding interesting films and future classics than the Oscars. It’s not going to happen, but getting rid of the foreign film category and rewarding the best films and actors globally would make them far more relevant.
@Pepper: Yes, I’ve called for them to scrap the Best Foreign Language Film category on here several times. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of support for the idea though, which is weird. I would’ve thought segregating non-English speaking people was every bit as racist as snubbing black actors. I also agree with you about Cannes. They do a much better job than the Academy.
If the foreign language film category was eliminated, it’s not like the Academy will campaign to have the truly great ones nominated for Best Picture. The Academy, despite presenting itself as the worldwide final word, would just ignore them and continue on their merry, myopic way.
Charlotte Rampling is stupid here.
Even if I think some persons or movies were snubbed this year,I don’t think they were snubbed because of their skin-colors .
deleted
Wow, just read her comments. What a stupid woman.
I love him. Not because of what he said here or because I think he’s such a great person. But I love to watch him on screen, he has such fantastic comedic timing and delivery and he’s jut entertaining whether it’s comedy or drama. Whatever his family drama or Xenu drama, I don’t care. I don’t buy that Jada wouldn’t have made that video had he been nominated but really, we’re all a little self-serving in whatever we do.
I don’t know. I’m a) British and b) white so doubly out of room to talk.
But um… it’s a clear and big issue. And many people (hopefully) will speak out. Some will be more articulate, some will be more committed, some will be better at backing up words with actions and, shock horror, some might not meet the highest standards of purity and lack of self interest. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to be auditioning people before they’re allowed to say anything. Any contribution should be welcome.
It’s not really time for ideological purity tests; it’s time for a critical mass of voices.
Finally, someone smart enough to recognize they have no nickle in this dollar. I get tired of hearing the militant non-minorities on the site preach about what people should do about racism and the Oscars and Hollywood, Ferguson, BLM and so on and so forth, when they have absolutely no practical knowledge of the subject.
They swoop in like superheros or Joan of Arc, saviours commanding the troops to save the black people when they have benefited from the system their entire lives and would rather die than give up the privilege. Sometimes outsiders want to part of a movement just to be part of a movement, even if the movement is silly and a waste of time.
That’s the impression I get on this site , people who think they are the only intelligent beings on earth, know the absolute truth and apparently everything else, and anyone who thinks differently is at best stupid, at worst watches Fox News at night and is stupider.
Get over yourselves. Like the black students at Missouri who told the whites kids to go away because they didn’t need their help, sometimes people just want you to stay on the sidelines and quit preaching and posturing and trying to be part of the in crowd so you can get a sound bite on television and look like a good person. Give it a rest.
i don’t think the problem with the nominations stems from a lack of diversity
if i wanted to nominate the 20 best acting performances in the 4 categories and only wanted to nominate white actors, those are not the 20 white people i would nominate
i think the problem is and always has been that people get rewarded with oscars and noms for a variety of reasons, occasionally being really awesome is one of them. but often it is not.
it’s a very glorified employee of the year dinner.
if they weren’t such lazy nominators, i think the results would not just be better but more diverse as a consequence
I agree Lisa.
I think SO MANY oscars are bought by playing The Game. I don’t always think they’re a reflection of the esteem that they announce.
But similarly to the MPAA, its hierarchy is outdated and isn’t the most accurate depiction or reflection of society as a whole.
But, I do think it’s moving a bit backwards as a whole.
I’ve always loved Will. And I agree, he’s a major player because of many reasons, talented for sure, and one being he is a great “movie star.”
But he is sitting this out because his wife did. It would look stupid if he went, that even her own husband wasn’t backing her up.
What is most important is there needs to be more movies made with characters who are people of color, so diversity in casting,, and then also to supporting more projects by minority directors/writers, etc.
Is Hollywood going to step up?
I wish that if the elite Hollywood actors are truly outraged, that they all would boycott the Oscars. People like Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, George Clooney and other household names not being there would bring change quicker than a hashtag campaign. The realist in me does not think it would ever happen, no way they wouldn’t miss out on a chance to peacock themselves to the world. I can now see how exclusionary the Oscars are now.
But would he be saying anything if he was the only person of color nominated?
Once upon a time I would have been counted as a Will Smith fan. He was charming on screen and I always felt good while enjoying his talents (largely in the comedic and / or action sense, I must fully confess I haven’t really paid attention to him in a more serious genre).
But then……his wife started irritating me. When your woman is talking about your having sex in the limo–that’s just lowclass crap right there. And all that “open marriage but no one needs to cheat but they can but….” junk. Woman please–we aren’t that interested in your bedroom. Its just tacky tacky tacky.
And the scientology or not conversations…….yeah right.
And then there is those kids……I hold it against him (and her!) for raising them as they have and then pushing them in our faces.
And now this? Whatever. This #OscarsSoWhite boycott thing has definitely gone in the wrong direction………but his definition of the wrong direction and mine aren’t the same thing.
He has to support his wife (and I do believe she went off on a tangent without really discussing the implications with anyone)…..and now they are out on a limb. A boycott of an awards show is pretty BS in my opinion. It’s an awards show…….that’s all. You’re making a stand over a trophy, which is pretty much an ego thing. Especially when the process is (as acknowledged by everyone) not about merit anyway.
Please please please …………somebody rethink what is really needed to recalibrate Hollywood’s mental model as it relates to diversity………and calling for a boycott of an awards show ain’t it. And use the much better spokespeople available(Shonda Rhimes, Denzel Washington et al) than Will and Jada who at this point are pretty much snickered at and about for a dozen or so reasons. You may agree with them in theory on the issue of racism in Hollywood for People of Color (all colors FYI….) but golly its easy to disagree with them on just about everything else,
And that’s why they need to sit down, shut up and let people with real talent and real opinion swaying gravitas take the lead.
I have to say one thing and then I’m not commenting anymore on this racist BS. Will Smith made a great comment when he said “There’s a regressive slide toward separatism.” I believe this but I don’t believe it’s on the part of white people. White people are not asking to be separated from anyone, it’s the others that are separating from ALL people. Look at what’s going on with college campi; the black students want their own “space” where no white people are allowed, there are black groups that want to make black only clubs or neighborhoods and they want to keep white people out of them. This is outright racism and segregation against white people and it’s wrong!! There aren’t any whites only clubs anymore or whites only colleges or whites only this and that because it’s not only an archaic idea to white people, it’s against the law!!! There are way too many “groups” and “causes” that are specifically calling for an end to white participation within their world. This is not what Dr. King sacrificed is life for!! He talked about loving one another and accepting each other and not judging each other based on the color of skin but based on their character. What does it say when we allow black groups to publicly discriminate against white people?? Why would black people want to stoop so low as those who kept their ancestors in the back of the bus or the back of the restaurant? It doesn’t make any sense. We were doing so well. The late 90s and early 2000s, we didn’t have any of this nonsense going on, we were all getting along and accepting each other so well. Black people want to re-segregate themselves, no one else is calling for that. No one else is advocating for that. I just can’t believe this is going on in this day and age.
“This is outright racism and segregation against white people and it’s wrong!!”
Jesus christ, just stop. How dare you even bring up Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sacrifice when you’re arguing that poor white people are being discriminated against. That is the most absurd and laughable thing I’ve ever heard in my life.
Please do everyone a favour and never speak on this subject again.
Whoa! I fully admit I was about to suggest that asking no one to ever speak on a subject again was dicey territory–but then I realized I did the exact same thing when I suggested that Will and Jada are out of their league to discuss the real issues involved. So I caught myself.
So what caught my attention in this exchange? I too wince at the concept that just about anything should exclude others on the basis of race, gender, et al. So I fully admit I’m not entirely comfortable when I see anything that is “black only” any more than I am to see “white only” unless its a family reunion. 😉 Both are just wrong. It can’t be OK for one group to exclude but not OK for another. At least in my world view.
And yes — I’ve backed that up in my personal life. As a woman executive, I was often pursued for “women only” networking events and speeches. I almost always declined and stated the truth: “We’d be outraged at a “men only” event, and we’d say it is wrong because it is–so I can’t in good consciousness act in discord with that belief. And I won’t use a victim card to justify it. ” I made maybe 1-2 exceptions and they usually were for college level career discussions and during them I also said I was uncomfortable and why…..but that my commitment to mentoring young people was strong too and I didn’t want to pass up that opportunity.
The world IS diverse and until we learn listening skills and advance mutual understanding in diverse situations…….we are part of the problem. And we don’t do that by gathering with people just exactly like us.
Why, because Dr. King was only speaking for black people?? Wrong again!!! I WILL speak on this subject and you have given me no reason as to why I am wrong. You tell me where I’m wrong, please. I’m talking about racism! ALL racism! Am I wrong about whites only vs blacks only? I’m not going to sit down and shut up, I have a valid point and all you can do is tell me to shut up. Sorry, that doesn’t work for me.
Thank you, Dirty Martini for understanding my point. I don’t believe any of us should be separating from each other. We should all be uniting together!
Although Dr. King never excluded any group, the civil rights movement was geared more towards black citizens because they were the ones getting their butts kicked.
Dirty Martini- the reason for women’s groups within various professions is because we face very different problems than our male colleagues. The situations are simply not symmetrical. It is often difficult to get women to talk freely in a mixed group for many cultural reasons, not to mention the guys’ hurt expressions when we talk about things they don’t like to hear (and often don’t believe anyway). There are times when the mixed group works and is needed, but often women also need a safe separate space. Men already have plenty of separate spaces, they have typically been the default in many professions. Men and women actually tend to have very different communication styles. Although there are certainly exceptions, women tend to take a cooperative approach and use language to bond while men tend to take a competitive approach to discussions and use language to establish dominance, as a game to be won. That difference can really get in the way of real discussion. In male-female conversations, the men often take the lead and decide which topics are pursued, because the women let them (assuming both are equally verbal). It’s very complicated and actually is part of a dominant/subordinate dynamic which can be based on other than gender, but that’s another thing people try to avoid by having women-only groups.
This is true of many other insider-outsider situations also. The “outsider” group that is only recently getting a chance at a piece of the pie has a whole different set of problems than the “insider” group that has been freely munching on the pie for generations. There is a time to try to engage the “other” but there is also a time when you need to be with your own group so you don’t have to spend huge amounts of time explaining your very different experiences to the “other” and convincing them that you are accurately reporting and reacting appropriately. Since the “insiders” are often the major source of problems for the “outsiders”, things can get pretty awkward in mixed groups when the outsiders do speak openly.
You might feel more like an insider for a variety of legitimate reasons and so don’t feel the same pressures as many other women or have found good ways to deal with it. So you may not personally feel the need for a women-only space. But there is too much evidence that many other women do still have that need. We see it in classrooms also – there is a big cultural pressure for female students to hang back and let male students take the lead. A male colleague was frustrated when he first saw this among his female students from a women’s college, when they started having joint classes with a nearby men’s college. He knew his students’ capabilities, but they were letting the guys do all the talking and dominate the whole discussion even though they could have held their own quite well. I had to fight to get my chance to twiddle knobs in physics labs, the guys were my friends but they were aggressive and playing king of the mountain all the time (my least favorite male game). I am a nonviolent person but I felt like bashing them over the head sometimes, they were so aggravating. Many women would have just let the boys play by themselves, but I wanted my time on the equipment! As a teacher, I was told by my male colleagues to avoid assigning male-female lab partners because the girl would end up taking notes for the boy…. (we’re all secretaries, you see). It’s cultural and it’s real, and women shouldn’t have to be unusually pushy in order to simply have equal opportunities.
I some how missed this magical era in the 90s and 2000s of which you speak. Did that occur on this planet?
Apparently the 90s and 2000s was all sunshine and rainbows for POC and no racism existed at all.
Minority groups gather together to give each other support and organize in their pushback against the status quo. The Irish and Italians communities did the same thing, btw. Was that racist?
And no one has a problem with celebrating being Italian American, Irish American, Swedish-American etc.
To attack minority organizations as exclusionary, especially historically black colleges, especially considering why they were created and to use MLK to do so feels … disingenuous to say the least.
To you, it may have seemed like racism was over because social media wasn’t yet a thing. PoC didn’t have the ability they have now to be heard. What you so fondly remember was silence.
“Why would black people want to stoop so low as those who kept their ancestors in the back of the bus or the back of the restaurant?” What?
You just haven’t had the experience of being a tiny minority in a large group, when your minority is considered an oddity and a curiosity and prejudices still linger. Just because you have decided intellectually that race doesn’t matter doesn’t make it so. I remember decades ago black undergrad students at my grad school university were asking for an all-black dorm. They were just tired of (as one woman put it) being their white roommates’ liberal education… They wanted to relax and feel free to speak about their experiences and really couldn’t in a majority white environment.
Even though I’m pale Irish, I understood what they were talking about simply because I was a rare woman in an overwhelmingly male field (physics in the USA, percentages are different in other countries). I typically was the only woman in the room In classes and at conferences. It’s as though you have to be “on” all the time, everything you say or do is taken as representative of your group (women in my case), you are always the outsider (I learned early that physics was an old boys’ club and I didn’t fit) and treated differently, then there are the outright bigots to deal with both among colleagues and students. It’s exhausting. When I was able to visit a female friend’s lab in the chemistry building or go to lunch with her, it was such a relief. The stress was off.
Years later, an older woman knocked on my office door – she was another physicist! She was on campus for something unrelated and saw a female name on the list for my department, and just had to meet me. We were that rare! And she was of the generation before Affirmative Action, so she had far more obstacles in her path than I had had (at one time not long before mine, we were not at all welcome in graduate school and we had to marry another physicist to get any space in a lab or the chance to do any research). My department chairmen in grad school were ok with female students because they had Affirmative Action quotas to fill, but they never would have hired a woman as faculty. That had to wait until their generation died off and retired.
You can believe race doesn’t matter because for you, it doesn’t. You don’t have to deal with it 24/7. For every “outsider” group, there is a transitional period when they benefit from chances to be with others of their group, without always being the minority and having to futilely try to explain their different perspectives to the established group. There is a huge difference between making a separate space because you want it and being forced into segregation. At some point, the need begins to disappear because attitudes change and the differences become just interesting rather than obstacles. But the established “insider” group is not the one to decide when this happens.
He is definitely likable when you watch him in an interview like that, but that doesn’t make him right. He and Jada would absolutely attend the Oscars if he had been nominated. Don’t play us.
YOU KNOW, if I wanted to poison the well on these him and his wife I’d use every post to question their motives, history, receipts, and totally make this issue about that and then incite as they beome less and less publicly popular and can be blacklisted by Hollywood so they can’t produce any films. And their kids won’t have careers unless they want to play token soon-to-be-dead characters all the time because what other roles will there be for PoC at that point, really. By which time the Oscars will be white full time so who’ll know the difference anyway – there are so much more important things in the world for PoC than acting, right? Who cares if we aren’t represented onscreen when we spent the most money on it as consumers?
BUT I don’t because I appreciate their contribution as PoC even if I don’t like them or care for a lot of their output. Not only can they inspire others – who can then do better – they and their kids could potentiallly do better themselves.
AND I’m also aware that other people are already trying to poison the well and that’s where all this constant derailing is coming from.
I agree with everything he says – I think POC ARE discriminated against in Hollywood. But, that said, if he and his wife feel so strongly, perhaps their production company should help by using their star power, money and influence to employ more POC.
I know people diss Tyler Perry, but it seems to me he does more to employ and include minorities in his films.
Also, just my personal opinion – Hollywood has more than a race problem. It has a huge elitism problem.
Wow. Aren’t there more important issues to discuss than the oscars? Geez. It’s a bunch of elitist pricks. I wouldn’t want to be included in their game anyways. Of all the things to boycot. Really?
Agreed.
I love will smith, always have and I liked what he said here. Now let’s hope he puts his money where his mouth is with his production company.