"I never knew my wife called for an Oscar boycott"

joan

January 21, 2016 4:18 PM

"I was out of the country at the time, and I came home [and said], ‘What happened? I heard her words, and I was knocked over. I was happy to be married to that woman," the 'Concussion' star tells 'Good Morning America' on Thursday, January 21.

Will Smith on Oscar 2016 boycott

Will Smith says he had no idea his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith called for an Oscar boycott. In a recent interview, the 47-year-old actor admitted he was out of the country when his wife recorded her "black" message to the world but says he is more than proud she did!

"I was out of the country at the time, and I came home [and said], ‘What happened?’” the 'Concussion' star, 47, revealed on Good Morning America on Thursday, January 21.

"She’s deeply passionate and when she’s moved, she has to go. I heard her words, and I was knocked over. I was happy to be married to that woman. I appreciated the push. There’s a position that we hold in this community, and if we’re not a part of the solution, we’re a part of the problem. It was her call to action for herself, for me and for our family to be a part of the solution.”

Pinkett Smith, 44, initially suggested the boycott on Twitter several days after the list of Academy Award nominees came out, marking the second year in a row that all of the acting categories consisted of white actors. She made things official two days later in a video post on Facebook. Now her husband thinks it’s his responsibility to speak out about the lack of diversity in Hollywood as well.

"I think that I have to protect and fight for the ideals that make our country and make our Hollywood community great. So when I look at the series of nominations from the Academy, it’s not reflecting that beauty".

“So when I see this list and series of nominations that come out — everybody is fantastic, and that’s the complexity of this issue. Everyone is beautiful and deserving and is fantastic, but it feels like it’s going the wrong direction,” he noted. "It reflects a series of challenges we’re having in our country at the moment. There’s a regressive slide toward separatism."

As for critics who say that Pinkett Smith is only championing this issue because she’s upset her husband didn’t receive a nomination, Smith disagrees.

"For Jada, had I been nominated and no other people of color were, she would have made the video anyway,” he said. "This is so deeply not about me. This is about children that are going to sit down and they’re going to watch this show and they’re not going to see themselves represented.”

And with his wife not attending the show, Smith will be joining her boycott and staying away.

"It would be awkward for me to show up with [],” he quipped. "We’ve discussed it and we’re a part of this community, but at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say that this is OK.”

joan