Jada Pinkett Smith called for a boycott of the upcoming Oscars because of the lack of diversity among the 2016 nominees.
Not long after she made her boycott wishes known, Jada Pinkett Smith came under fire from Janet Hubert–Aunt Viv on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Smith’s husband Will Smith starred on the sitcom.
Jada Pinkett Smith has responded to Janet Hubert's Oscar boycott criticism: https://t.co/icLyQpXCeG pic.twitter.com/89fyZcUJz3
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) January 22, 2016
Hubert shared a video earlier this week calling out Jada Pinkett Smith, calling her call to boycott hypocritical.
“I find it ironic that somebody who has made their living and made millions and millions of dollars from the very people that you’re talking about boycotting just because you didn’t get a nomination, just because you didn’t win?” Hubert said in the video. “That is not the way life works, baby.”
Jada Pinkett Smith responded to Hubert’s video in her own video clip posted by Entertainment Tonight.
“This whole Oscar controversy isn’t really about the Oscars,” she says in the clip. “Really, in my plea to ask all communities and people of color to take back our power is so that we can use it in all sectors of our community, and right now, specifically with African-American people, we have some very serious issues that I think we as a people have to move together on. I’m hoping we can find ways to step together in this instead of finding ways to fight each other. I got love for everybody.”
Janet Hubert had more to say, and she did just that in an interview with The Los Angeles Times.
Janet Hubert isn't done talking about Jada Pinkett Smith's Oscars boycott: https://t.co/SEXH3yRB4Y pic.twitter.com/smreiDTxG4
— E! Online (@eonline) January 22, 2016
“I’m a real freedom fighter,” she told the publication. “I’m not a pretend freedom fighter. I stand up for other actresses, other people. The Smiths just irked me because they are such pretenders, and everything is a photo op. It’s just self-contrived because her hubby didn’t get a nomination.”
Janet Hubert continues to diss Jada Pinkett Smith after Oscars diversity comments https://t.co/ZtIEFqVlaF pic.twitter.com/WtHdUWOJfI
— People Magazine (@people) January 21, 2016
Which of these women might you choose to support? Do you believe Jada Pinkett Smith is calling for an Oscars boycott for the right reasons, or do you tend to think Janet Hubert hit the nail on its proverbial head instead?
