After announcing the nominees for the 2016 Oscars, the Academy of Arts came under fire for a lack of black nominees, with notable acting snubs including Idris Elba in The Beasts Of No Nation, Will Smith in Concussion, and Straight out of Compton for Best Picture. There have been quite a few reactions, including Spike Lee and Will Smith not attending, and Jada Pinkett Smith calling for a boycott from actors of color. But few have drawn as much ire as Stacey Dash. On Tuesday, Dash went was FOX News to address the #OscarsSoWhite issue.
DASH: We have to make up our minds. Either we want to have segregation or integration. If we don’t want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET, and the BET Awards, and the [NAACP] Image awards, where you’re only awarded if you’re black. If it were other way around, we would be up in arms. It’s a double standard […] Just like there shouldn’t be a Black History Month. We’re Americans, period.
And in case you missed that last part.
DOUSEY: Are you saying that there shouldn’t be a Black History Month because there isn’t a White History Month?
DASH: Exactly, exactly.
As expected, there were many who disagreed
If it weren't for the people we honor during #BlackHistoryMonth Stacey Dash would be drinking from a "colored" water fountain.
— George Wallace (@MrGeorgeWallace) January 21, 2016
https://twitter.com/JasijahX/status/689936898643628032
When it ALL FALLS DOWN! #StaceyDash #SMH #TBT pic.twitter.com/1XkDEDFnKe
— Syleena Johnson Official (@Syleena_Johnson) January 21, 2016
Some made comparisons to Raven-Symoné.
https://twitter.com/YoungKeat/status/689897315293908992
https://twitter.com/EOmaizenblue/status/689889922665291776
BET also fired back, and used one of the 1000s of Clueless jokes.
But Dash also had her supporters.
Y'all mad at Stacey Dash but she right. if there was a "White History" month or a "White Entertainment Television" there would be an issue 🤔
— Regina George is a fuglyslut 💜 (@_SeductiveLove) January 20, 2016
https://twitter.com/NoWomanIsRight/status/689864726973526016
Some have also pointed to this clip of Morgan Freeman bemoaning Black History.
Why is #staceydash getting so much heat? Morgan Freeman has long opposed #BlackHistoryMonth, too. CRICKETS https://t.co/rIHsRggXxh
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) January 21, 2016
In any case, #OscarsSoWhite seems to have caught everyone’s attention, and it doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon.