You would think of almost anyone, Ice Cube would be one of the people with the biggest gripes against the Oscars and their apparent diversity issues with this year’s award field. After all, it was his critically acclaimed film, Straight Outta Compton, based on his groundbreaking group, starring his son, and produced by his production company that many feel was one of the films snubbed the most by the academy.
Given those reasons, it would seem that the 46-year-old rapper and actor would be one of the most vocal stars up in arms, but alas, true to his moniker, he’s being cool about it all.
During a recent appearance on “The Graham Norton Show” to promote his new film Ride Along 2, Cube said he’s never really checked for the Oscars and since his movie got shut out (save for the Best Original Screenplay nod for the screenwriters), he’s not too amped to go to the ceremony.
“I never used to go anyway. You can’t boycott something that you never went to anyway,” he said. “I look at it like a horse race,” he continued. “Once your horse loses the race, you tear up your ticket and … just back on out.”
With that said, Cube maintains he isn’t holding a grudge because he doesn’t do films for the Academy’s recognition in the first place.
“We don’t do movies for the industry; we do movies for the fans, for the people,” he asserted. “And the industry, if they give you a trophy or not, or pat you on the back or not, it’s nice, but it’s not something you should dwell on. … We got so much praise for the movie, and it’s like, how could you be mad ’cause one other Academy, or Guild, or anybody didn’t say it was . It’s crying about not having enough icing on your cake. It’s just ridiculous.”
The 88th Academy Awards ceremony will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on February 28 and air live on ABC.
