Oscars: Nominee Mark Ruffalo Says He’ll Attend in Support of ‘Spotlight’

Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith have already said they won’t be attending the Oscars after a second straight year of all the acting nominees being white, and there has been pressure on host Chris Rock to do the same.

Now Mark Ruffalo, who is actually among the nominees in the best supporting actor category for his role in Spotlight, has said he’s also considering whether or not to attend.

“I’m weighing it, that’s where I’m at right now,” he told BBC News on Thursday. “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.”

Ruffalo added that it was not just the Academy that has a diversity problem. “It’s the entire American system,” he said. “It’s rife with the kind of white privilege racism that goes into our justice system.”

In a series of tweets later in the day, the actor confirmed that he would be going to the Academy Awards.

“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,” Ruffalo tweeted.

“I do support the Oscar Ban movement’s position that the nominations do not reflect the diversity of our community,” he added, followed by, “The Oscar Ban movement reflects a larger discussion about racism in the criminal justice system.”