Academy Awards host Chris Rock hasn't responded directly to calls for him to step down or for a tune-out or boycott of the event, but he has weighed in on the lack of diversity among acting nominees.
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Actor Tyrese Gibson, whose long list of film credits includes roles in locally filmed "Ride Along 2" and "Furious 7," is among those calling for Rock to decline to serve as host.
"If they purposely left out all homosexuals and gays from being nominated for an Oscar, if the host Chris Rock was a homosexual, he would have stepped down already.," he said during an interview with People. " This is the way you affect change."
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Credit: Jennifer Brett
Activist and television host Rev. Al Sharpton is among those calling for a boycott of the event.
“All-white Oscar nominations are another example of the lack of diversity in Hollywood," he posted. "Like the Rocky Mountains, the higher you climb, the whiter.”
Others have varying opinions.
Actress Janet Hubert, who played Aunt Viv on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," lambasted actress Jada Pinkett Smith's call for a boycott.
"First of all, Miss Thing, does your man not have a mouth of his own with which to speak?" Hubert asked in a Facebook video, referring to actor Will Smith, Hubert's co-star on the sitcom and Pinkett Smith's husband, who was not nominated for his lead role in "Concussion."
Rock hasn't responded directly and urges people to tune in. He posted this message on WhoSay:
Credit: Chris Rock on WhoSay
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