(AllHipHop News) British funnyman Sir Lenny Henry has taken aim at Will Smith, accusing the Hollywood superstar of turning his back on his African-American roots.
The “Harry Potter” and the “Prisoner of Azkaban” star went on the attack in a Sunday People newspaper article, calling for more ethnic minority faces on the big and small screen.
The beloved Brit, who was recently honored with the Alan Clarke Prize at the by BAFTA Television Awards, then turned on Smith, stating, “If a movie makes more than a hundred dollars, some black people stop being black. They become Will Smith.”
Lenny went on to call the BBC “an oppressive institution,” adding, “I worked at the BBC for 35 years before I had a meeting with anyone who looks like me. The only people like me were cleaning that corridors and that is not right.”
The Comic Relief founder continued, “Until writers and directors reflect what is happening, they won’t represent us properly.”
Henry also addressed the lack of diversity at this year’s (16) Oscars, joking that the only brown person nominated for an Academy Award was the bear from Best Actor winner Leonardo DiCaprio’s film “The Revenant.”