George Clooney Speaks Out About Hollywood's Diversity Problem

Every acting nominee for this year's Academy Awards has one thing in common: they're white. Not a single person of color made the cut, inspiring the viral hashtag #OscarsSoWhite and leading Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith to announce they're boycotting the ceremony this year. In response, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the president of the Academy, issued a statement saying she was "heartbroken and frustrated" by the lack of diversity.

Now Oscar-favorite George Clooney has weighed in on the issue in Variety, and it's one he knows about well: Clooney has two Oscars, one for acting in Syriana, and one for producing Argo. He's been nominated for six other Oscars through his career. He said that over his decades in Hollywood, he's seen things get worse, not better. 

"I think around 2004, certainly there were black nominees—like Don Cheadle, Morgan Freeman," he said. "And all of a sudden, you feel like we're moving in the wrong direction. There were nominations left off the table." He cited films like Creed, Concussion, Beasts of No Nation, and Straight Outta Compton that could have received more nominations for people of color.

But for Clooney, the Oscars lineup isn't the biggest problem; instead, it's the lack of opportunities in prestigious movies for actors who aren't white. "We should have been paying attention long before this," he said. "I think that African Americans have a real fair point that the industry isn't representing them well enough. I think that's absolutely true." Here's hoping he keeps this idea in mind when producing or directing his next movie.