by Michael Imhotep, TheMichaelImhotepShow.com
Thursday, January 21st, 2016, 4:00 PM EST
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Jada Pinkett Smith responded on Wednesday, January 20th in a brief interview with Entertainment Tonight to comments by former “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” star Janet Hubert. Hubert played the role of the 1st ‘Aunt Viv’ on the hit NBC Show from the late 1980s and early 1990s. Hubert criticized Jada and husband Will Smith who starred in the “Fresh Prince”, for refusing to attend the Oscars because Will Smith was snubbed for a nomination for his role in “Concussion”. Unlike Janet Hubert’s profanity laced video, Jada responded with pure class, dignity and elegance. Jada posted her 1st video Monday, January 18th, 2016 on Dr. King Day as we previously reported. (Watch Video)
In a video posted on Facebook, Hubert said:
“I find it ironic that somebody who has made their living, and made millions and millions of dollars from the very people you’re talking about boycotting just because you didn’t get a nomination, just because you didn’t win,” Hubert, who played Aunt Vivian on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, said. “That is not the way life works, baby.” Entertainment Tonight reported
Jada Pinkett Smith responded in the Entertainment Tonight interview (WATCH VIDEO):
“Considering that Alabama had its highest recruitment for the KKK for Martin Luther King’s birthday, I hope that we as African-Americans can find a way to get along and step together,” Smith says. According to the New York Daily News, a Ku Klux Klan chapter distributed recruitment flyers to residents in Mobile, Alabama, over the MLK holiday weekend.
“This whole Oscar controversy isn’t really about the Oscars,” she adds. “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.”
Roland Martin host of News One Now on TV ONE talked about this issue last year and this year behind Oscar snubs. The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite is being used to discuss this topic. Martin has talked many times about how this is bigger than the Oscars and bigger than an award. It ties into the earning potential of actors, actresses, production companies, costume designers, music composers, sound mixers, producers, directors, writers, animators, stunt coordinators, choreographers, etc. an entire industry that has for the most part frozen people of Color out. Martin referenced Spike Lee who in November 2015 made remarks about a lack of diversity in decision making positions in Hollywood when he received his honorary Oscar.
Spike Lee said as reported by YourBlackWorld.net:
“It’s easier to be the president of the United States as a Black person than to be the head of a studio [or] network. Everybody in here probably voted for Obama, but when I go to offices, I see no Black folks except for the brother man at the security who checks my name off the list as I go into the studio. We need to have some serious discussion about diversity and get some flavor up in this.”
An Oscar win can increase the earning potential of one’s career whether they are in front of or behind the camera. These are increased dollars that can be used in the African American community for a number of uses.
News One reported about an interview Roland Martin did (VIDEO):
“Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith have announced their decision to boycott (they didn’t use the phrase boycott even though they said they would not attend) the Oscars as a result of the Academy Award nominee whiteout. Cheryl Boone Isaacs, president of the Academy and the first Black women to hold the position, has even expressed her displeasure with the “lack of inclusion” in this year’s crop of Oscar hopefuls.”
As the controversy continues to swirl, political and social commentator Jasmyne Cannick took to Twitter and called for Whites to step up to the plate and stand in solidarity with African-American entertainers.
Cannick joined Roland Martin Wednesday on NewsOne Now to discuss her blog post calling for liberal Hollywood to boycott the Academy Awards and said, “I think at the end of the day, it’s an easy out to call on Blacks to boycott the Oscars — if every single one of us tuned out and didn’t watch the Oscars, it really wouldn’t hurt their bottom line.”
She further explained her point, saying if Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and other stars were to “sit this one out” in support of their African-American colleagues, a “stronger message” would be sent to the “93 percent of the voting Academy who is White and the 74 percent that is male.”
Cannick also called on the LGBT community to stand in solidarity with Black actors, saying, “If the gay community was screaming foul because of the Oscars, folks would be standing up left and right to support the gay community, and it should be no different with the African-American community – especially coming from Hollywood, who is known for being the most liberalist of the liberal.”
We discussed #OscarsSoWhite, the Flint, MI lead water crisis and more Wednesday, January 20th, 2016 on “The Michael Imhotep Show”. Listen to the PODCAST of “#OscarsSoWhite – Boycott The Oscars and The Box Office #RedistributeThePain” here.
Listen to the podcast, “Tamir Rice Case Debacle, Emails released in Flint Water Crisis, Jada Pinkett Update About Oscars Comments” from “The Michael Imhotep Show”, Thurs. Jan. 21st, 2016 at http://tobtr.com/s/8244251 or www.AfricanHistoryNetwork.com for podcasts and DVDs.
Michael Imhotep is a talk show host, researcher, lecturer, writer and founder of The African History Network. He is the host of The Michael Imhotep Show on The Empowerment Radio Network and can be heard Monday-Friday, 10pm-12midnight EST on www.TuneIn.com or the TuneIn Radio App and search for “Empowerment Radio Network”. Visit his website www.AfricanHistoryNetwork.com for more information about his lectures, DVDs, our history and podcasts of the show.
You can follow him on Twitter @MichaelImhotep and his Facebook FanPage, “The African History Network”. He is available for interviews and lectures. He is a strong advocate of African Americans reclaiming their history, culture and controlling the economics, education and politics in our community. He is featured in the upcoming documentary, “Black Friday” which deals with African Americans controlling our $1.2 Trillion economy and creating generational wealth. Visit www.AfricanHistoryNetwork.com for more information.
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