Jada
Pinkett Smith was cool as a fan Wednesday (January 20) when she was
asked to respond to Janet Hubert’s (Aunt Viv) criticisms of her urging
African-American actors and actresses boycott the Academy Awards due to
the lack of diversity in this year’s nominations.
Smith’s
plea set off a passionate debate online with some siding with the
44-year-old actress, while others stood with Hubert’s claim her boycott
suggestion seemed opportune due to the fact Will Smith wasn’t nominated
for his portrayal of Dr. Bennet Omalu in Concussion.Wearing a powder blue trench coat, Smith calmly responded to Hubert’s fiery retort.
“Considering
that Alabama had its highest recruitment for the KKK for Martin Luther
King’s birthday, I hope that we as African Americans can find a way to
get along and step together,” Smith said. “Here’s the deal: This whole
Oscars controversy isn’t really about the Oscars. Really, it’s my plea
to ask our community, people of color, to take back our power so that we
can use it in all sectors of our community, and right now, specifically
with African American people, we have some very serious issues that we
as a people have to move together on.”
Pinkett later added her boycott suggestion wasn’t intended to cause contention.
“I’m
hoping that we can find ways to step together in this, instead of
finding ways to fight each other,” she said. “I got love for everybody.”
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