Will, I won’t: Hubby joins Jada boycott
SNUBBED STAR Will Smith said he’s staying away from this year’s Oscars, joining his wife on the sideline to protest the award show’s lack of diversity.
The “Concussion” star told “Good Morning America” that he is avoiding what could have been an awkward red carpet moment.
“No, my wife’s not going,” Smith said.
“It would be awkward for me to show up with Charlize (Theron). We’ve discussed it. We’re part of this community, but at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say that this is OK.”
Days earlier, Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, said in a Facebook post on Martin Luther King Day that she was boycotting the ceremony in a bid to promote black empowerment.
She was followed by directors Spike Lee and Michael Moore.
Smith, whose “Concussion” performance had been expected by industry insiders to put him in the running for Best Actor, was shut out of last week’s nominations.
He lamented that the academy’s acting nominations — all white for the second year in a row — don’t reflect “this beautiful American gumbo” of diversity.
Smith, 47, said he didn’t even know his wife was planning to boycott Hollywood’s most important night until he returned from a trip overseas.
“I was out of the country at the time. And I came home, ‘What happened?’ ” he laughed. “She’s deeply passionate, and when she is moved, she has to go.”
The Hollywood heavyweight also addressed a chorus of critics accusing Pinkett Smith of only boycotting the awards because of her husband’s exclusion.
“There’s probably a part of that in there,” Smith said. “But for Jada, had I been nominated, and no other people of color were, she would’ve made the video anyway.”