Viola Davis won’t be attending the Oscars this Sunday (28.02.16) – but she insists her no-show is not a deliberate snub over the diversity row.
The ‘Suicide Squad’ star is disappointed by the lack of ethnic actors and filmmakers in the nominations list for the 88th Academy Awards ceremony but she is not snubbing the ceremony in Los Angeles to make a point like Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, it simply clashes with her travel plans.
Viola – who revealed she wasn’t going in an interview with SiriusXM Radio – blames the "Hollywood movie making system" and the lack of films featuring people of colour for the awards being so white rather than the Academy.
Speaking to the station, she said: "You need people who are in a position of power to green light movies that have us in them. That’s the only way that things are going to change – to have more projects out there. Listen, if you have 200 movies that are mainly Caucasian and two movies that are black, then we’re still going to be in the same boat.
"We have to step up to the plate too. We have to see movies like ‘Selma’. We have to see movies like ‘Dope’. We have to see movies like ‘Beasts of No Nation’. You gotta support those different voices out there. Listen, Hollywood, at the end of the day, looks at the box office. You know, we’re consumers."
Viola has been vocal about opportunities for women of colour since her Emmy win in September 2015, when she took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as character Professor Annalise Keating, Esq. in ‘How to Get Away with Murder’.
She delivered a poignant acceptance speech that called for the recognition of the importance of characters that "redefine what it means to be a beautiful, sexy, a leading woman".
Viola was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2008 for her portrayal of Mrs. Miller in ‘Doubt’ and in 2012 she was up for the Best Actress Academy Award for her performance in ‘The Help’.
Viola Davis not attending Oscars
