Chapter 856: Discrimination Against White Actors

"The Oscars have always welcomed people of color to present awards or even entertain the audience, but we are rarely recognized for our artistic achievements. Shouldn't people of color stand together and refuse to attend the ceremony?"

This was the public statement made by Will Smith's wife, Jada Smith, after the latest Oscar nominations were announced.

She wasn't alone. Numerous prominent Black actors aimed their frustration squarely at this year's Oscars.

"I am deeply disappointed by the lack of diversity in this year's nominations. It reminds me of the unconscious bias in society and the prestige our culture rightfully deserves. The Oscars shouldn't just be the artistic benchmark of modern society; they should also reflect the diversity of the best art. I stand with my colleagues who are calling for change and demanding promises be kept."

In an instant, Black actors and the Oscars became a heated social topic.

Perhaps due to the changes Duke had brought about, the nominations for this year's Oscars differed somewhat from previous years. Some moviegoers might remember the controversy when past Oscar nominations sparked accusations of "racial discrimination." Back then, because not a single Black star was nominated for any of the major acting awards, resentment among Black actors soared.

When this year's nominations dropped last Thursday, Black stars were once again ignored, and the results ignited another massive uproar.

For two consecutive years, all twenty actors nominated across the four major acting categories—Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress—were white. In an America where the slogan of "racial discrimination" echoed loudly, such a selection, whether intentional or not, left certain groups filled with bitter resentment.

Many Black actors even publicly declared they would boycott the Oscars.

A few Hollywood opportunists jumped into the fray as well, such as political activists like George Clooney.

"Thinking back to ten years ago, the Academy's track record was much more commendable. How many African Americans were nominated back then? I don't think who gets chosen is the problem; what matters is how many minority actors are actually available in films, especially in high-quality works."

It was true. Nominating Black actors seemed to be a form of political correctness. Because of this political correctness, the Academy had previously crowned undeserving Oscar Best Actor and Best Actress winners like Halle Berry.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs released a statement regarding the lack of diversity in this year's nominations:

"I want to acknowledge the wonderful work of this year's nominees. While we celebrate their extraordinary achievements, I am both heartbroken and frustrated by the lack of inclusion. This is a difficult but important conversation, and it's time for big changes. The Academy is taking dramatic steps to alter the makeup of our membership. In the coming days and weeks, we will review our membership qualifications in order to bring about much-needed diversity in next year's Academy."

Yet, many others strongly disagreed.

Janet Hubert, a fellow Black actress, harshly criticized Jada Smith during an interview:

"There are so many things in the world you aren't aware of. People are struggling on the verge of death, people are starving, people are drowning in debt, and all you care about is the Oscars and a few Golden Statuettes. It just isn't that important. And why are you stepping up to call for a boycott of the Oscars? Is it really for fairness? Isn't it just because Will Smith failed to get a nomination?"

Whoopi Goldberg, a former Oscar winner for Best Supporting Actress, directly condemned the boycott during a talk show:

"You want to boycott the Oscars? Don't go see the movies that don't represent you. That's a real boycott. Every year we have this same controversy. It really pisses me off."

It seemed perfectly normal that Black actors hadn't received Oscar nominations, yet they acted as if they were naturally entitled to them. This sense of entitlement deeply disgusted many people.

"Why must we separate people? Black actors are demanding Oscar nominations regardless of their roles or performances..." British actress Charlotte Rampling stated during a radio interview. "This is simply racist discrimination imposed upon white actors!"

Racial discrimination was an exceptionally sensitive topic across America. Ever since Halle Berry made history by becoming the first Black woman to win Best Actress, Black actors had continuously secured nominations and Golden Statuettes. After over a decade of this trend, they had inevitably developed a bizarre mentality: regardless of whether they were qualified or not, receiving an Oscar nomination was a given, and failing to receive one was undoubtedly racial discrimination.

This mentality had already become glaringly obvious among certain Black groups in Hollywood.

Faced with the calls for Black actors to boycott the Oscars, the octogenarian Clint Eastwood couldn't hold back either, mocking their fragile egos:

"I guess a lot of people are crying about it!"

Given Duke's current status and position, the reporters chasing after him naturally asked him about the issue.

Though no one had ever publicly reported it, the perceptive insiders of Hollywood could easily see that Duke didn't like using Black actors. In all the films he had produced, aside from Will Smith serving as one of the leads in the ensemble cast of Independence Day, not a single Black actor had been given a starring role. Even when his leading casts included actors of Asian, Latino, or Slavic descent, there was simply never a Black actor.

Yet, to this day, not a single mainstream media outlet had reported on this or attacked Duke for it, because in the eyes of the mainstream press, this was simply how things were.

"I don't know about this Oscar controversy. All I know is that the Film Academy has thousands of members, and the vast majority of them have never received an Oscar nomination."

Facing the reporters' microphones, Duke expressed his views directly, though he knew exactly how to phrase his words so no one could pick them apart.

"I voted for several Black actors, and I regret that they failed to get nominated. But if that makes us racists, then I feel deeply offended."

In some ways, the relationship between the Oscars and actors was like that of parents and underage children—a lot of these bad habits had been spoiled into them early on.

Sometimes, people were just so plagued by an inferiority complex that they felt everything others did was a sign of looking down on them.

Of course, Duke would never say such things out loud.

"Personally, I believe acting performance should be the sole criterion for the Oscars. Actors must deliver strong performances in their works, rather than receiving extra preferential treatment simply because they are Black. Otherwise, it's unfair to everyone else."

At this point, Duke shifted gears and joked about himself and Leonardo.

"I thought The Avengers would earn me a Best Director nomination, but the reality was exactly the opposite. Still, there are perks to not getting nominated. I don't have to travel thousands of miles to get there. You know how exhausting it is to sit there in the audience, having to clap right alongside Leonardo."

The biggest twist of this year's Oscars lay right there. Leonardo DiCaprio had snagged a Best Actor nomination for The Great Gatsby, and the man he bumped out was none other than Denzel Washington, a Black actor the public had previously heavily favored for a nomination.

In fact, highly influential industry publications like Vanity Fair and Hollywood Reporter were practically blanketed with articles building momentum for Leonardo.

For instance, after finishing his interview, Duke read a copy of Hollywood Reporter during a break in filming. It featured a slightly exaggerated commentary: If Leonardo still couldn't win a Golden Statuette, all of Hollywood would go crazy!

Actor, star, producer, environmentalist, social activist... Leonardo DiCaprio was already a winner in life, yet his record of achievements was still missing an Oscar Golden Statuette.

This year's Oscars marked Leonardo's fourth Best Actor nomination. He had narrowly missed the award the previous three times, to the point where the media would tack on the question, "Why can't Leonardo win an Oscar?" every time they covered the Oscars.

When interviewed after receiving his Oscar nomination this year, Leonardo himself stated that winning was entirely out of his control:

"It's not the reason you make movies. You make movies because you love them, and when you look back on your life, you'll be proud of a huge body of work. Being recognized by your peers is just the cherry on top. I've done everything I needed to do. As for whether it's worth watching, discussing, or rewarding, that's entirely up to you."

See? He was incredibly clear-headed and calm.

Many star actors suffered headaches over the invasion of privacy that came with fame, but Leonardo thought about it with exceptional clarity:

"If I wanted to leave the acting profession, I would have quit a long time ago. I love making movies, and I consider myself incredibly lucky. So, I am willing to sacrifice a lot of my private life for it, because it is absolutely worth it. I don't want to complain about the troubles of fame, because I have the freedom to stop whenever I want to."

"How far is he from the Golden Statuette this time?"

That was the final sentence of the commentary, but just how far he was might only be known by seasoned industry insiders.

Duke and Leonardo had always maintained a good relationship. Every awards season Xiao Li participated in, Duke was a staunch Leonardo DiCaprio supporter. This time was naturally no exception, and from his recent contacts with Leonardo, he also knew the man's latest updates.

Looking at Leonardo's haul this awards season, from the end of last year until now, he had successively won Best Actor at the Chicago Film Critics Association, the Boston Film Critics Association, the Washington Film Critics Association, the Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and the Golden Globe Awards for Drama.

The bulk of his wins came from critics' awards.

If this had been twenty years ago, these awards would have indicated that Leonardo was highly likely to win at the Oscars.

However, the decline of film critics nowadays wasn't just empty talk, nor was it limited to the summer season. In an era where everyone was a film critic, the influence that professional critics—who were not Academy members—had on the Oscars was also waning.

Leonardo was actually very far from the Golden Statuette this time!

His biggest competitor was Daniel Day-Lewis, starring in Lincoln. Not only was the man of Jewish descent, but he was also exactly the kind of actor the Academy loved most—and he had never acted in a commercial film...

Most importantly, at the Screen Actors Guild awards, Leonardo had already lost to Daniel Day-Lewis.

Aside from casting his own vote for Leonardo and persuading the Academy members on his team to do the same, Duke's biggest preparation was figuring out how to comfort—or perhaps tease—Leonardo after he inevitably went home empty-handed once again.