His wife called for a boycott, and now Hollywood actor Will Smith is speaking out against the lack of diversity on the Oscars' nominee list this year.
The 47-year-old believed the awards, to be held in Hollywood on February 28 (February 29 NZ time), were not reflecting the beauty of Hollywood as a whole.
"I think that diversity is the American superpower. That's why we're great," Smith said on Good Morning America.
He said the Academy reflects Hollywood, and that should reflect America - when he looked at the nominees, he did not see that.
Smith said it was "huge" for him when he had been nominated: "I've been nominated twice for Academy Awards, and I've never lost to a white person," he said. "The first time I lost to Denzel [Washington], and the second time I lost to Forrest Whitaker."
I see this list and series of nominations to come out, and everyone is fantastic... but it feels like going in the wrong direction."
But the boycott was not about Smith's snub for his role in Concussion.
"This is about children that are going to sit down and they're going to watch this show and they're not going to see themselves represented," he said.
"There was a regressive slide towards separatism, towards racial and religious disharmony...that's not the Hollywood that I want to leave behind."
While he was not in the country when his wife actress Jada Pinkett Smith called for a boycott, Smith supported his wife all the way.
"We've discussed it," Smith said. "We're part of this community but at this current time, we're uncomfortable to stand there and say that this is OK."
And in true Will Smith style he joked: "My wife's not going. It would be awkward to show up with Charlize [Theron]."
The Smiths are part of a larger group of Hollywood heavyweights, including Spike Lee, Michael Moore and George Clooney, who have publicly criticised the 2016 nominations after it was revealed 20 major acting nominees, for the second year in a row, are all white.