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Stacey Dash Slams The Oscars Boycott

by Lauren Holter

On Wednesday, actress-turned-pundit Stacey Dash went on Fox News' Fox & Friends to discuss Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee's call for actors to boycott this year's Academy Awards, but her message was different from that of her peers. The Clueless actress said that the problem is that there are still some forms of segregation, and that she thinks there shouldn't be a Black History Month, or channels like BET which only show actors of color. The main issue with this proposal is that getting rid of holidays and awards recognizing Americans of color probably wouldn't lead to more Oscar nominations for black actors — more likely, it would just lead to fewer actors of color being honored at all.

"We have to make up our minds. Either we want to have segregation or integration," Dash said. "And if we don't want segregation, then we need to get rid of channels like BET and the BET awards and the Image awards, where you're only awarded if you're black. If it were the other way around, we would be up in arms. It's a double standard." One could argue (as Smith and Lee did) that the Oscars are the other way around, since an actor of color hasn't been nominated in the past two years.

Not only did she have an issue with TV channels and award ceremonies focused solely on actors of color, but Dash also denounced Black History Month. Her point was that if there isn't a White History Month, there shouldn't be a Black History Month. "We're Americans. Period. That's it," she told Fox & Friends.

BET apparently tweeted about Dash's comments, but deleted the post soon after. It read: "Oh really? Without Black History Month, would Stacey Dash be able to troll her way to a monthly Fox paycheck?"

Dash apparently thinks Black History Month and the BET awards are showering black actors with so many accolades that there just aren't any left when it comes time for the Oscars. Eliminating these entities would probably only exacerbate the problem, as actors of color would then have no outlet for honoring one another. Inclusion and diversity doesn't mean stripping certain groups of their own creative spaces, but including everyone in overarching award ceremonies and Hollywood as a whole.