Academy Head Addresses Lack of Diversity

The president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences vowed Monday to bring change to the organization, following the announcement that Spike Lee and Jada Pinkett Smith will boycott the Oscars over the lack of diversity. President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said she was “heartbroken and frustrated about the lack of inclusion.” Boone Isaacs added the Academy would review its membership-recruitment process “to bring about much-needed diversity” in future classes. “As many of you know,” she said, “we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years. But the change is not coming as fast as we would like. We need to do more, and better and more quickly.”