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Before the 2016 Oscars’ diversity controversy, host Chris Rock had long spoken out about racial issues in America and he recently brought up another “real problem” in Hollywood.

The 50-year-old comedian and actor was among the first celebs to comment publicly on the lack of diversity among this year’s acting nominees. One of the most vocal critics is Jada Pinkett Smith, who posted an online video vowing to boycott the Oscars. Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o told E! News that “what we are calling for, asking for, is for there to be inclusion in the kinds of stories that are being told in the first place.”

“I’ve never done a movie, any movie, the silliest movie, where someone, some studio person hasn’t gone, ‘Does the girl have to be Black?’” Rock told Essence magazine in an interview carried out this past December, before this year’s Oscar nominations were announced. “It happens every time.”

Rock’s comments are published in Essence’s March 2016 Hollywood issue, which features him on the cover. It is set to hit newsstands on Feb. 12. He also made his remarks weeks before the Essence’s 2016 Black Women in Hollywood, which takes place on Feb. 25 and which will air on OWN on Feb. 27.

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source: BCNN1.com

Chris Rock Talks To Essence Magazine About 2016 Oscars, Diversity And Black Actresses’ Challenges In Hollywood  was originally published on praisecleveland.com