Samuel L. Jackson And Wife Have “Moved On” From Oscars

Even though actor Samuel L. Jackson was not given an Academy Award nomination for his role in Quentin Tarantino’s The Hateful Eight, LaTanya Richardson Jackson assures that she and her husband are not bothered by it.

“Of course, I was upset because Sam didn’t get nominated, but then we moved on,” the Fighting Temptations actress told The Hollywood Reporter. “We are of a different generation — we lived through the black power movement — so we moved on. … I’m disturbed by it all, but we gotta remember: the Oscars is one night.” She also said at the same event, a benefit for the Arthur Miller Foundation Monday (Jan. 25), that she believes her husband should have gotten a nomination for his role as the film’s bounty hunter, Major Marquis Warren.

Many actors and actresses have voiced their disdain with the Academy’s lack of diverse nominations. All of the nominees for the major acting categories are white, while the nominated movies denoted as “black films” have only white nominees recognized. Jada Pinkett- Smith and husband Will have boycotted the event, and many entertainers such as Lupita Nyong’o, George Clooney and Viola Davis have spoken out about this growing dilemma.

Mrs. Jackson, who is a member of the Academy herself, says that while she and her husband will not boycott the event, they are working year-round to fight the industry’s diversity issue.

“During the year, [Academy voters] aren’t the people you need to be trying to boycott! You have to go where this occurs: … inside a room of producers, and the number of movies that get green lit,” she said. “I don’t know if you saw Hamilton, but you got to be in ‘the room where it happens.’ It’s the truth. Some people, you just vote and you don’t watch the film. You figure, ‘Is that person in that movie? Oh, I don’t like his movies, I’m not gonna watch it.’ You have to watch the movie! Or, you should! It’s the integrity of the situation.”