Cuba Gooding Jr. on Oscars Boycott: 'Jerry Maguire' Star Talks Diversity in Hollywood

By Victoria Guerra | Jan 29, 2016 08:09 PM EST

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Cuba Gooding Jr. is making a comeback by playing O.J. Simpson in the first season of the anthology, American Crime Story, and being an Academy Award-winning black actor, he was obviously asked what he thought about the recent Oscar boycott. It turns out that, for the Jerry Maguire actor, the awards show isn't the real problem, as Hollywood diversity should be focused on earlier phases of the chain.

According to Perez Hilton, the actor was asked about the recent controversy during the American Crime Story L.A. premiere last Wednesday, and he said award shows like the Oscars were in fact "the end of the chain," stating that he was convinced it wasn't the best way to start, saying there should be a stronger focus on casting diverse roles instead.

Referring to a quote by Mexican filmmaker and three-time Academy Award winner, Alejandro González Iñárritu, he pointed out that casting directors in movies should take a leaf from the work on television, which is looking increasingly diverse in the past few years.

Still, as a member of the Academy, Gooding Jr. disagreed on the boycott though he seems pretty clear that something needs to be changed soon.

"I was an Academy member since 1993 and I won an Oscar in 1997, so from those four years I cherish my membership," said Gooding Jr. "Our president made a decision and I leave our decisions up to our board of trustees to make those decisions. I have to stand by them."

Following this year's acting nominations, which went to 20 white actors and not one single person of color, Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs expressed concerns over the lack of diversity in the nods, as this has been the second year in a row without any non-white nominees in the acting categories. In a historic move, Boone Isaacs announced last weekend that the Academy would be changing the regulations for membership to try to turn the tables on the demographics of the near century-old institution.

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