By The Horn News editorial staff
Film director Spike Lee caused huge controversy across the entertainment world when he demanded a general boycott of the 88th Academy Awards, saying that the film industry is racist against blacks. And he’s gained considerable support. Just this week, Lee has enlisted a number of notable celebrities to his cause, including director Michael Moore, George Clooney, and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Their accusation is simple. There should be a boycott, Lee suggests, because there wasn’t a single black actor or actress nominated for an Oscar held in the past two Academy Award ceremonies.
Further, these consecutive snubs to black actors and actresses, Lee says, are a symptom of a greater, serious problem of systematic racism within Hollywood that favors non-blacks.
But is Spike Lee right? Are black actors and actresses really being kept back?
No. And unfortunately for those liberals furiously reaching for their race card, we have proof.
BLACK ACTORS AND ACTRESSES IN HOLLYWOOD
As of 2013, according to the US census, African-Americans made up 13.2% of the U.S. population – over 41.7 million Americans identify as only black (as in, not a part of a mixed family).
If everything were ideal, we can reasonably expect black actors to make up around 13.2% of all film roles, as well as 13.2% of all Oscar nominees and winners.
Does that hold true?
According to a University of Southern California study, out of the top 100 films from 2007 – 2014, 12.5% of the actors were black. The difference between 12.5% and 13.2% is considered statistically insignificant.
Hollywood is almost perfectly representing black actors and actress to its audience.
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS
But what about the Academy Awards?
Since the 77th Academy Awards – held in February of 2005 – there have been a total of 192 different Oscar nominations for actors and actresses.
During that time period, Hollywood has seen 23 black actors and actresses nominated for these Academy Awards, or 12% of possible awards.
That means black actors and actresses have been outrageously cheated out of 1.2% of the Oscar bids, or less than two nominations.
But that 1.2% doesn’t mean much. In such a limited selection, large variations are expected. A 1.2% off from the average isn’t very significant at all.
AND THE WINNER IS…
So what about award winners?
Well, Spike Lee is wrong again. Since 2000, there have been nine black actors and actresses who have won the Academy Award for best lead or supporting actor.
That’s nine Oscar wins out of 68 total awards since the 72nd Academy Awards, a perfect 13.2% rate of Oscar wins for black Americans.
And since 2005, black actors and actresses have won seven Oscars, out of 48 total winners; a 14.6% rate.
Sorry, Spike, but the numbers don’t lie.
Black actors’ and actresses’ representation in film, as award nominees and as award winners is EXACTLY what a reasonable person should expect.
The numbers show that very talented black actors and actresses are being hired, being nominated and winning Oscars at a proportional rate to their population in the United States.
To some, it is lamentable that 2016 was the fourth time since the year 2000 that there hadn’t been a black actor nominated for an Academy Award.
But outrage seems a bit much. Boycotts seems even more extreme.
In fact, last year there wasn’t a single black actor nominated. But there were no boycotts then. So where was Spike Lee’s outrage in 2015?
Perhaps he was too busy getting ready.
Last year, Spike Lee attended and accepted the Academy’s Honorary Award as, “A champion of independent film and an inspiration to young filmmakers.”
BLACK ACADEMY AWARD NOMINEES, 2000 – 2016
72nd Academy Awards – March 26th, 2000
Best actor nomination, Denzel Washington
Best supporting actor nomination, Michael Douglas Clark
73rd Academy Awards – March 25th, 2001
NONE!
74th Academy Awards – March 24th, 2002
Best actor nomination, Denzel Washington – WON
Best actor nomination, Will Smith
Best actress nomination, Halle Berry – WON
75th Academy Awards – March 23rd, 2003
Best supporting actress nomination, Queen Latifah
76th Academy Awards – February 29th, 2004
Best supporting actor nomination, Djimon Hounsou
77th Academy Awards – February 27th, 2005
Best actor nomination, Jamie Foxx – WON
Best actor nomination, Don Cheadle
Best supporting actor nomination, Jamie Foxx
Best supporting actor nomination, Morgan Freeman – WON
Best supporting actress nomination, Sophie Okonedo
78th Academy Awards – March 5th, 2006
Best actor nomination, Terrance Howard
79th Academy Awards – February 25th, 2007
Best actor nomination, Forest Whitaker – WON
Best actor nomination, Will Smith
Best supporting actor nomination, Eddie Murphy
Best supporting actor nomination, Djimon Hounsou
Best supporting actress nomination, Jennifer Hudson – WON
80th Academy Awards – February 24th, 2008
Best supporting actress nomination, Ruby Dee
81st Academy Awards – February 22nd, 2009
Best supporting actress nomination, Viola Davis
Best supporting actress nomination, Taraji P. Henson
82nd Academy Awards – March 7th, 2010
Best actor nomination, Morgan Freeman
Best actress nomination, Gabourey Sidibe
Best supporting actress nomination, Mo’Nique – WON
83rd Academy Awards – February 27th, 2011
NONE!
84th Academy Awards – February 26th, 2012
Best actress nomination, Viola Davis
Best supporting actress nomination, Octavia Spencer – WON
85th Academy Awards – February 24th, 2013
Best actor nomination, Denzel Washington
Best actress nomination, Quvenzhané Wallis
86th Academy Awards – March 2nd, 2014
Best actor nomination, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Best supporting actor nomination, Barkhad Abdi
Best supporting actress nomination, Lupita Nyong’o – WON
87th Academy Awards – February 22nd, 2015
NONE
88th Academy Awards – February 28th, 2016
NONE
There was not a Chinese, Native American or Polish-American nominee. No movies about Catholics, Hindus or Portuguese were nominated. Is that racist too? Maybe the Academy will institute a quota category box nominees can check off like a civil service exam. Affirmative Academy Awards Action. Seriously, on want ads for city and state jobs it says at the bottom that the agency is an Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action Employer. If you hire based on ethnicity, then how can you be and equal opportunity employer?
Crybabies – and Sharpton is not only the biggest crybaby of them all but typically every issue almost with out exception is phony, made up, or outright lies, to further his own self-gratification agenda by stirring up racial trouble between whites and blacks. One day this will more likely than not get him seriously hurt or maybe worse. Let us all hope Sharpton becomes more realistic in his older age, we can always hope for the best for everyone. 🙂
Sharpton more realistic, not likely. I would like to know why he isn’t in jail for tax evasion. More important and famous people than him have had to go to jail for tax evasion. Guess it is all in who you know. Maybe when we get rid of Obama, the IRS will go after him instead of charity organizations on Obama’s hit list.
They go by the box office tickets and how well it was sold. If it was a Box Office smash that means money, but to nominate someone who made a B rated movie will not be awarded . In the movie “Independence Day” the whole move surrounded itself around Will Smith. , he was the Ace Pilot that shot down the Alien Craft, he was the one that took down all of the crafts and he alone. Funny it seemed he was the only fighter Pilot . If you make one person the main star of the movie and everyone else are just considered to be Stand ins, then yes cause no one else has a spotlight on them. He could of played that Solo by the way the movie went. Sad !
OMG!! Quit yelling racism already,you’re giving me a headache
Big Deal you didn’t get any awards this time around,maybe next year,you’ll get
ten.The saying goes>> Sometimes you Win,sometimes you Lose,it just wasn’t your year..
There was no racism involved,you all just want to use the race card,to get what you want.
Well,, being Black doesn’t Guarantee you anything ,anymore,you are all a just bunch of ,,
crybabies.{ Po} black me,well no more..
One of the best picture nominees is, in fact, about the Catholic church.
Clooney thinks he is a modern day Clark Gable. I wonder if this was 1986, 76 or 66 if Clooney would have the talent to get a small role in a soap opera? There is so much real racism, bigotry, classism etc. today. Yet, self appointed leaders ignore it. Arabs enslaving Africans. Christians suffering a holocaust in the Middle East. The decline of the American middle class. Segregated wealthy suburbs. Clooney and Lee wouldn’t dare go after those problems.
Clooney spends most of his time out of the States in his Villa. He just is sounding off so he can become relevant . Lake Como is where I think he lives most of the time.
It’s funny, or ironic, that blacks don’t want to be stereotyped by the police, but yet, Spike looks at who’s been nominated and see’s only white faces..isn’t that stereotyping?……I guess Spike only see’s color or lack of when it suits his racist instincts…. basically, we should just boycott all Spike Lee, M. Moore and G. Clooney films.
That seems to be the general feeling among blacks…..only finding fault when it suits them.
I guess whites should boycott the NBA or NFL or the blacks boycott the NHL —THIS is what self serving elitists sound like.
Why should the color of one’s skin earn them an Academy Award nomination??
If they are not good enough for a nomination, then so be it.
The movie American Sniper brought in tons and tons of money, but didn’t win anything because of prejudice against the movie. The Directors, Producers, and Actresses, and Actors didn’t raise anything like Spike Lee, or Smith has done. My god people get over yourselves, their is other things to worry about, like our economy, Hillary Clinton, and the list goes on and on. Stop your baby bullshit
I know I won’t watch anything with Smith in it or Spike Lee movies
how many whites won the miss black america. how many were aloud to enter
And why is their BET (Black Entertainment TV)? Sounds racist to me!! How come their is a United Negro College Fund? Why isn’t there a Poor White Boy’s College Fund that I can donate to?
No matter how good you are..there will always be some one who is better. This
Reminds me of the kids who get awards
Because people dont want to leave them
Out. Rediculus. It is as important to be a
Good looser as it is to be a good winner.
agree
Spike lee is just like sharpton,Jesse Jackson.what about pro basketball. You don’t hear those guy’s say that pro basketball is too black. A few years ago a black. Alderman in wisc.said their basketball team was too white. Their were 15 guys on the team. 5 white,5 black, and 5 different nationalities. Nobody says anything that most of the pro athletes are black. What do these guys want.
As a matter of fact, in the late 70’s they DID say it was too black. The NBA was struggling. Dropping attendance and tv coverage. Then came along the rivalry between Magic and Bird (coincidentally white), and the NBA was reborn. This has been documented and covered.
Not too Sharp ton should get an Oscar for not paying his taxes.
You got that right. And the “good Rev. Al” is a frequent guest at the White House. Hmm…something isn’t right there…to say the very least.
Personally, I have very little respect for actors. In my opinion they are over paid, over rated, egomaniacal jerks for the most part. When making a movie they can do a bunch of takes of the same scene photographed from different angles and then people edit those scenes taking the best parts to create the best possible result from what they have. For this they should get an award??? It doesn’t seem to matter anymore who does the best at anything. So lets do what we do for over indulged children – give everybody that “participates” an Oscar so that none of these delicate egos get hurt. OR, we could give out a separate set of awards to the best black, best Hispanic, best native American, best Asian, and maybe even best whitey actor. However, no matter what they do, and no matter how great these over indulged idiots think they are, eventually all actors wind up at some point being the answer to a trivia question
Ha ha ha, OldRockerguy!! Perfectly stated.
And how many JEWS did not get nominated this year?! Or Irish?! Why did Peter O’Toole never get an Oscar?! Was he too Irish?! Who even remembers the names of last year’s Oscar winners?
Who really keeps making race an issue and playing the race card??? They have their own organizations, media shows, publications, award ceremonies, beauty pageants, ebonics, affirmative action, etc?? Hell, when I go shopping at the local the Wal—t, I even see a section labeled in the book department for their books? Huh?? In the hair-products department, they have their own “ethnic” section. “Ethnic” is really is mislabeled. It should be “Racial.” I am tired of all of this accommodation. I predict that this will continue on …only in America. Oh, yeah…February is coming. We’ll have to listen and see public-service announcements about their heritage. More propaganda. When is my race celebrated for a whole month?
This is a case where a well-know racist ( no longer a closet racist) is calling everyone else who is not his color a racist. This is one opportunity for him to get a bit more attention to keep “relevant”. Michael Moore is a white race individual that will go where the wiind is blowing to keep in the public eye. Two study cases of “desperate need for attention” individuals.
Mike moore is a disgrace to himself. He supports all of these causes to buy attention and friends .If he had any self pride ,he would lose about 200 lbs and dress like a person with class. Instead because he has no class he chooses to plod around like a casually dressed circus elephant. Boy money covers a lot of ills in this country. Rob 423
Woe is me. This is a mere reflection of the ‘you owe me’ attitude that exists in (black) America. Like the spoiled little brat who didn’t get a trophy for participating. The present goal is to establish yet another ‘quota policy’ to pacify the over-represented. Call it what you may, Diversity, Inclusion, Participation, they’re all buzzwords for quotas. Have you noticed how many hosts on the game shows are black?? (Hispanic or Asian~~none that I can think of on American TV stations) As someone stated previously, the make up of the NFL and the NBA is DISPROPORTIONATELY BLACK. Perhaps we should ALL boycott both of these sporting activities until corrective measures are taken to insure that ALL races are mandated to play in the sport based on the percentage of their population in America.
Listening to the racist diatribe of Spike Lee is like listening to a sermon delivered by race baiters Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, or Obama’s minister, Jeramiah Wright. It’s the same old song to garner racial strife and liberal/left wing sympathy.
Through the years, I can think of many white actors that I felt were worthy of an academy award based on their performances, but did not receive one. Funny thing, most were back on the big screen the following year giving it their all, in hopes that their latest effort would garner them the prized Oscar, with the knowledge that they were NOT guaranteed an Academy Award due to a racial quota. Such is life in ‘WHITE’
America.
DON,
You are so CORRECT.
Everything you mentioned is a FACT.
NBA – let them make up their own league and call it “NBBA” National Black Basketball Association
The entire NFL, NBA, sports “ALL” should be boycotted. Public wants lower prices, quit paying.
I gave up paying the enormous waste of money watching NBA & NFL about 5 years ago.
and actually boycott.
All are Over paid and under educated.
there’s a handful of blacks and whites who still have a problem with racism. Just look around at all of the famous black people in all positions. We even have a black president. Some people are just plain miserable and need some attention to make them feel worthy. Unfortunately all they do is set things back even more. people will start getting really upset over the reverse racism. white people don’t complain about all of the all black tv channels, athletes etc. If everyone wants to be treated equal, we need to all play by the same rules. Those rules do not include making an award for every color. BUT, if people continue to gripe, maybe they will add a token spot so as to not offend. Not much of an award if everyone knows that they just won so that the racist card is not used again it’s a shame that there are still people out there that are poor losers and have to ruin things for others. They are probably the same people who are calling racism the reason a lot of people don’t want large amts of refugees entering our country. It’s because they’re not being vetted well, and people are really worried. As for the illegal immigrants, most of the same people that complain, are not worried that many of us are losing a lot of our jobs to foreigners. We have young people coming out of college with great debt that are having problems getting jobs. Why not use some of that unnecessary complaining and direct it to real problems. We can’t take care of our own homeless, elderly, and veterans. I bet you all have nice homes and plenty of food. Shame on all of you people that are so concerned about a prize.
Why the hell does anyone care who gets that ugly trophy . Your only as good as your last effort as the saying goes .To be honest , there are only so many of theses no nothing awards to go around so it’s more political than anything else. Since there are only two best actor awards ,one female and one male , and over 500 + actors and actresses , it’s possible for many to be at the top of their game giving stunning performances year in and year out and never get a nomination ,much less actually win. That doesn’t make them any worse or better than anyone else . And lord knows , they all make enough money . It would be better if they gave out five awards in each category every year, because it is virtually impossible to pick out THE BEST ! .There are just to many good movies that appeal to different groups or individuals.You could say , for instance , that several people performed equally as well but because the movies were not appreciated or accepted equally ,these people were overlooked. The Oscars are inherently unfair ,the way it is set up . Just think back in you memory, have you ever heard of or seen anyone receive the best actor or actress award for a comedy? It just doesn’t happen , why ? who knows , but making people laugh is a gift , yet the committee that decides who gets nominated ,treats those with this talent like step children. When you choose a role in a comedy, you know in your heart ,you’re not going to win an Oscar.Yeah,! there are a lot of people who could cry discrimination and they would all b eright.Rob 423
Maybe the race card gang should consider there were many white actors who did not receive an Oscar nomination for their work. What they may not realize is they are creating a situation where future black nominees will be tainted. If three black actors are nominated next year we will have to wonder if they were nominated solely because of their skin color. We will wonder if the nominators were pressured into nominating a black actor to prevent a repeat of the racial charges.
What’s next? If three blacks are nominated next year but none receive an Oscar will these same activists hurl their racist charges because no black won an award? Years ago people would see a black person working for a business and assume they were the token black who was there because the business felt the pressure to hire a black. Do we really want to get to a point where future black Oscar winners are considered to have got the award simply because of their skin color? That would do a disservice to those who are nominated and win because of their hard work, talent and skill.
I am so sick and tired of these whiners who repeatedly complain about the injustice of just about everything. If you don’t like it here then move the hell out to a foreign country. Enough is enough.
What this is all about is that Will Smith’s wife is upset because he did not win and she is mad!
That is it that is all…
And of course Lee is always looking for something because he is a serious racist! Every one knows that.
Wha, wha, wha,. Want my Oscar! Give me my Oscar! There should an Oscar for CRYBABIES! Sharpton should get an Oscar for the BEST RACIST! If I owed the Government $4.5 million dollars where would I be? Not in the White House that’s for sure.
Apparently there are certain numbers of people in all the race groups that complain and whine all the time. They are not grateful even when they have so much money they still whine. If I had my way to say right in their face: Shut your big A hole up! Otherwise move somewhere else outside America because your complaints are not legitimate!
The more important statement to make about all this Hollywood hullabaloo is that success in any venture is not racially balanced or determined by some kind of bizarre quota system.
I will agree with one statement that Spike Lee made: I will be boycotting the Academy Awards this year, too. But I would like to mention that I am not a member of the Academy, I am not a voter in the nominations or the awards, and I don’t give a damn about the entire event anyway. But I guarantee that I will not watch the show, either. I just have zero interest in the results.
no matter what they have,still looking for the hand out,it’s just to hard to work for it,i guess that’s a good reason to want to be black///
Nice to see the liberals turning on themselves
There wouldn’t be that much complaining without an audience to hear their nonsense. A lot of responsibility for the overblown, better-than-thou, give me what I want ( even if I DON”T deserve it or have earned it ), belongs to the liberal news media.
Surely calling people an ugly name, such as racist, because of the color of their skin, is RACISM!!!! This sort of ‘dummie spit’ on the part of any minority, sets their cause back massively. STOP seeing yourself as a ‘minority’, & be part of the whole. This was a LOOK AT ME stunt…..unjustified & unbecoming.
Po Spike wasn’t nominated for anything and has no real involvement with the Oscars this year. How else is he gonna draw attention to himself? Those other fools joining him are just clueless sheeple.
The problem is blacks always pull the race card when something does not work out for them even if it was their own fault. MLK dream was that people not be judged by the color of their skins but, by the qualities of their character and making best use of their abilities. When blacks pull the race card they are saying pick me because I am black, no other reason. MLK did not believe in such ideas. The only reason BHO won two elections is because he was black not because he was right for the job. There were other blacks out their more qualified for the job. We have seen what a lousy president BHO has been.
It sad when stats. are used the wrong way one could give stats to justify why black talents were not allowed to be a Quarter Back , Baseball , Tennis or even allowed a dominant role in a movie I guess it was not so long ago lee is right we have come a long way unfortunately there’s still a long way to go .
I just feel that going forward in the future, every black actor or actress will have a little asterisk next to their name when they are nominated (metaphorically speaking). Are they going to feel like they legitimately earned the nomination or will it feel like the academy has nominated them just to have some black people nominated that year?
#nba so black
In case someone hasn’t done it already, the actor’s name nominated in 2000 was Michael Clarke Duncan for “The Green Mile.” Not Michael Douglas Clark.