Mark Ruffalo says Hollywood should embrace the Black Lives Matter movement.
Oscar nominee Mark Ruffalo says that he will still attend this year's Academy Awards, but he still supports the growing boycott against the Oscars. However, Ruffalo hopes it “opens the way” for Hollywood to join in the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
Earlier this week, Ruffalo said he was “weighing” not attending this year's Oscars following the backlash against the lack of diversity in this year's Oscar nominees. However, in a series of Twitter posts, the Spotlight star said he will attend the ceremony, despite his support of the “Oscar ban movement.”
To clear up any confusion. I will be going to the Oscars in support of the victims of clergy Sexual Abuse and good journalism. #Spotlight
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) January 21, 2016
I do support the Oscar Ban movement's position that the nominations do not reflect the diversity of our community.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) January 21, 2016
In a follow-up tweet, the actor said that the “Oscar ban movement reflects a larger discussion about racism in the criminal justice system.” But, he later corrected himself in another tweet shortly afterward:
Correction. I hope the Oscar Ban movement opens the way for my peers to open their hearts to the #BlackLivesMatter movement as well.
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) January 21, 2016
The boycott against the Academy Awards has picked up steam ever since this year's nominees were announced last week. Will and Jada Pinkett SMith, Michael Moore and Spike Lee have all announced that they will not attend this year's award ceremony, after the Academy nominated only white actors in top categories for a second year in a row.
Other actors have also been critical of the Academy's nominations, however they did not plan on boycotting the ceremony.
Mark Ruffalo is nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Spotlight. He told BBC News that he had not decided whether or not he would attend the February 28th ceremony.
“I'm weighing it, that's where I'm at right now,” the actor said, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I woke up in the morning thinking, ‘What is the right way to do this?' Because if you look at Martin Luther King's legacy, what he was saying was that the good people who don't act are much worse than the wrongdoers who are purposefully not acting and don't know the right way.”
