David Oyelowo, fears Oscar Incident will effect negatively on ‘Push for Inclusion’

David Oyelowo wrote in a column, “This incident should not be a springboard for proxy arguments in Hollywood circles about race, respectability and belonging,”

While sharing his thoughts about the Oscar incident which involve on Will Smith and Chris Rock, reflecting on race and equality, The Selma star wrote column, in which he discussed his reaction of Smith slapping Chris, which he witnessed in person as an attendee of the Academy Awards ceremony on March 27.

David wrote, “The moment I realized the nature of what had just occurred on the stage at the Dolby Theatre, I was confronted by the same rising anxiety all Black people feel when the face that flashes up on the news after a crime is reported, is a Black one,” You find yourself thinking, ‘What does this mean for us?’ ‘What does that mean for me?’ ”

British-born actor then recounted an exchange at an Oscar’s after party and said he “was immediately confronted by that which I feared.”

David wrote, “An older white gentleman sidled up to me with relish in his demeanor and said, ‘He should have been dragged right out of there,’ ”

In reference to Smith he wrote, “You may well agree with that sentiment, but it’s not what he said, it’s the way he said it. I know that relish. I know that demeanor, and it is ugly to its core in all of its coded messaging.”

He wrote, “In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, the entertainment industry made a lot of pledges to increase the diversity of our business. Some intentional. Some ceremonial. My fear is that this unfortunate incident, which has us all processing, will have a negative effect on the ongoing push for inclusion,”

“There are those who, in a bid to make sure something of this nature never happens again, will operate through an unconscious — or conscious — bias. A bias that still governs so much of the decision-making in Hollywood. It would be tragic if a bid to prevent such an incident from happening again becomes an excuse for ideas about inclusion and diversity to backslide.”

He further wrote, “It would be naïve to assume that the incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock will not be pushed, by some industry professionals, through the lens of race,” he also wrote, going on to note that those strides of progress are still not enough: “We still have barely any Black executives who have the autonomy to green light anything that gets made.”

“We must be vigilant against decision-making that would detrimentally affect the gains made by the likes of the Academy, [former Academy president] Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and all of those fighting for a more diverse, inclusive and equitable entertainment industry and world,” the actor wrote.

“I’m calling on the good people with good intentions to stay focused on building on the great gains we’ve recently made. They mustn’t be eroded by those with bad intentions who would seek with relish to weaponries this incident to derail those gains and divide us.”