For two years in a row already, no actor of color -- male or female -- has been nominated for an acting award. This fact has created an Academy Awards controversy and even an Oscar 2016 boycott from some of the audiences, filmmakers and actors in the industry.
U.S. Magazine has created a timeline for the controversy that eventually lead to a boycott. The whole thing started after the announcement of the nominees on Jan. 14.
On Jan. 15, Oscar 2016 host Chris Rock tweeted: "The #Oscars. The White BET Awards", to steer clear of the controversy while acknowledging it at the same time.
On Jan. 16, Jada Pinkett Smith was the first actor to publicly speak about the Oscar 2016 boycott when she complained through Twitter that people of color are rarely recognized for their acting contributions. "Should people of color refrain from participating all together?" Jada posted. Many people are also saying that one person of color who was snubbed in the awards is Jada's husband Will Smith, who starred in the movie "Concussion".
On Jan. 18, Jada followed up her Twitter post with a Facebook video officially announcing and promoting the boycott. Jada said that the Academy has the right as to whom they want to nominate but people of color also have the right and the responsibility to make a change and not attend the event.
On the same day, influential filmmaker Spike Lee agreed with the Oscar boycott. He asked how it is possible that 20 acting contenders for the last two years were all white actors. However, the director did not forget to thank Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs and the Academy board since he has won an Oscar in the past.
Idris Elba, star of "Beasts of No Nation" and an actor that fans say was snubbed in the Oscar 2016, also talked about the difficulties of being an actor of color. "The problem is the gap between the dream and the reality ... to champion diversity is to champion the American dream. That's the guarantee I want here in Britain. Where's the British dream?"
However, not all actors of color agree with the boycott. The wife of Samuel L. Jackson -- another actor of color that some fans are saying has been snubbed for his role in the movie "The Hateful Eight" -- also talked about the Oscar 2016 boycott. "Of course, I was upset because Sam didn't get nominated, but then we moved on," LaTanya Richardson Jackson told The Hollywood Reporter.
