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Rep. Danny Davis (D-Ill.) has become the first member of Congress to openly support those boycotting February’s Academy Awards ceremony over the lack of diversity among nominees.
Davis, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, told The Hill on Friday that he’s not a “big movie buff,” but he does back the boycott.
“I think they are reflective of the African-American community,” he said of those rebuffing the event.
For the second year in a row, no black actors are up for awards in the four major acting categories. That news reignited the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, which was used last year to voice outrage at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Davis joins a list of prominent politicians and entertainers who have spoken out about the Oscars’ missing diversity.
Will Smith is joining his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, in the boycott because he said, “We’re uncomfortable to stand there and say it’s OK.” Spike Lee fumed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” this week that the lack of black nominees was an example of systemic failures plaguing Hollywood. Even GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump said that “it would certainly be nice if everyone could be represented.”
Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.), another member of the Congressional Black Caucus, told The Hill that she was “extremely disappointed in the lack of diversity — year after year — in the Academy’s selections,” but she isn’t joining the effort to shun the Oscars.
The Huffington Post reached out to other caucus members who have not yet weighed in on the boycott.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said he had not planned to attend the Oscars prior to the boycott and those plans had not changed after seeing the nominations.
Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Cedric Richmond (D-La.) declined to comment. This piece will be updated when others respond.
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