Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg says those who are concerned or outright opposed to the new diversity standards and quota system recently imposed by the Academy Awards can “fuck off.”
“The parameters if you look at them closely… you can have the ‘whitest’ cast in the history of cinema and still very easily meet them by just doing a few key roles behind the camera,” the Saturday Night Live alum said in an appearance on Variety‘s Awards Circuit podcast. “People who have problems with it can fuck off.”
The 42-year-old added that actors and filmmakers should not primarily be concerned with winning awards but instead making the most of working to create “high art.”
“I believe in comedy and I believe it can be, and is a high art form. You don’t make comedy to get nominated for stuff,” he said. “I don’t do this to get nominated for stuff and I feel good when I do it. You either kill it and you’re Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine or Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting or your other examples.”
As explained by Breitbart back in September, under the new diversity standards, scheduled to take effect in 2024, filmmakers must meet various quotas on the presence of women, LGBT, the disabled, or ethnic minorities, in order to qualify for nomination.
“The aperture must widen to reflect our diverse global population in both the creation of motion pictures and in the audiences who connect with them,” Academy President David Rubin and Academy CEO Dawn Hudson were quoted as saying at the time.
Meanwhile, it is not the first time that Samberg has put himself at the forefront of contentious political issues. In 2015 , he joined many of his Hollywood colleagues in describing President Donald Trump as a “racist” while delivering his opening monologue at the Emmy Awards.
“Donald Trump, of course is running for president, to the delight of uncles everywhere,” he declared at the time. “I’ve got to say, sure, Donald Trump seems racist — What else?”
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