Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the nominations for the 2016 Academy Awards, and while movies such as "The Martian" and "The Revenant" and actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Eddie Redmayne were considered a shoe-in for getting an Oscar nomination, the Internet went into an uproar after realizing that non-white actors weren't in the nominations.
The controversy promoted the #Oscarssowhite movement and gained plenty attention from African Americans in the entertainment industry, including, Jada Pinkett-Smith and Spike Lee, who have both publicly announced that they would not be attending this year's award show due to the lack of diversity in the nominations.
While stars like Pinkett-Smith and Lee chose not to attend, "Straight Outta Compton" star O'Shea Jackson Jr. said that not receiving a nomination won't keep him away from the award show.
"The voters, they're entitled to their own opinions, just like you and I," Jackson Jr. told E! News reporter Marc Malkin. "That doesn't mean Straight Outta Compton is not being celebrated. We are still up for an award for original screenplay and I will be there to represent Straight Outta Compton."
"Straight Outta Compton" received a nomination for a Best Original Screenplay. However, two white screenwriters wrote the N.W.A biopic. Director F. Gary Gray and the actors in the movie did not receive a nomination.
"Just back to the drawing board," Jackson Jr. said about the lack of non-white acting nominees. "They'll be there for years to come and let's make sure we are, too."
Jackson Jr.'s father and "Straight Outta Compton" producer Ice Cube recently gave his opinion on the Academy's lack of diversity and not receiving a nomination for his film, saying, "Maybe we should have put a slave in Straight Outta Compton. I think that's where we messed up."
Following the nomination announcements, Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs released an official statement expressing her disappointment in the lack of diversity represented in this year's nominations.
"As many of you know, we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years. But the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better and more quickly," Boone Isaacs said.
"This isn't unprecedented for the Academy. In the '60s and '70s it was about recruiting younger members to stay vital and relevant. In 2016, the mandate is inclusion in all of its facets: gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. We recognize the very real concerns of our community, and I so appreciate all of you who have reached out to me in our effort to move forward together."
