The actor sounded off on the lack of diversity in the nominations this year
Danny DeVito has become the latest actor to weigh in on the controversy about a lack of diversity in the nominations for the 2016 Oscars.
"It's unfortunate that the entire country is a racist country," DeVito told the Associated Press on Saturday, speaking at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
Actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith and director Spike Lee had said they would not be attending the Academy Awards in February as part of a boycott in response to the absence of diversity in the major nomination categories.
"This is one example of the fact that even though some people, you know, have given great performances in movies, they weren't even thought about," DeVito said. The actor, who grew up in Asbury Park, said the Oscars are evidence of more widespread problems in the United States.
"We're living in a country that discriminates and that has certain racist tendencies," he continued. "So sometimes it's manifested in things like this and it's illuminated. But just generally speaking, we're a bunch of racists."
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in response to criticism about the nominations and calls for a boycott of the awards ceremony, recently announced measures aimed at increasing diversity in the group's membership and governing body. The measures include limiting membership to 10 years, pending renewal. The academy issued a goal to double "the number women and diverse members" by 2020.
"I applaud their attempts to do something about it, which is great," said actor Don Cheadle, who also spoke to the AP at Sundance. "But again, this is dealing with the symptom, not starting at the root cause of how we even get to results like this."
While actress and Fox commentator Stacey Dash has called an Oscars boycott "ludicrous," others, like actress, comedian and "The View" host Whoopi Goldberg, rejected Dash's view. "We are all Americans, but we are not all treated like Americans," she said.
Actress Charlotte Rampling, on the other hand, has suggested that the controversy over the nominations and calls for a boycott are racist to white nominees -- though she later said her comment was misunderstood.
"In the end you can't vote for an actor because he's black," said actor Michael Caine, when asked about the issue. But he did seem to suggest that actor Idris Elba should have been nominated for his role in the film "Beasts of No Nation."
"I'm baffled by it," added actor Sam Neill, also at Sundance. "I mean, I would've thought that Idris Elba and Sam Jackson would've been a shoe-in for nominations."
Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup. Find NJ.com Entertainment on Facebook.