When Jada Pinkett Smith posted her now-famous video calling for Black actors to boycott the Academy Awards for not nominating any Black actors for two years in a row, the nation exploded with commentary about Hollywood’s racism issue. And although many people assumed that the video was about her husband, Will Smith, not being nominated for his role in his new film, Concussion, Will recently explained that the video had little to do with him.
According to media reports, Smith recently told BBC Radio that his wife’s decision to make the video was based off of her own opinons of Hollywood, not him being snubbed for an Oscar.
“If I had been the only person of color that had been nominated, my wife would have made two videos,” he said. “She would not have gone with me. Trust.”
Will then explained that he didn’t even know that his wife was making the video.
“I was out of the country when she made the video. I was in Thailand,” he said. “I had no idea. I’m like, ‘Babe, you gotta give a fella a little heads up,’ you know? Just a little something. ‘Hey, babe, hit me before you walk out of the airport’ … So I got in the car and Googled and watched the video.”
Will also says that he doesn’t see the problem in Hollywood as a civil rights issue. Instead, he thinks the issue goes beyond race.
“This is not a civil rights issue. This is not black and white. This is about diversity,” he said. “The images that we deliver from Hollywood have to push America. Diversity is the American superpower. That’s what makes us great.”
What do you think of the video and the issue? Let us know in the comments.
