Oscars 2016: Spike Lee clarifies his 'boycott' statement, calls diversity outrage a misdirection play

Director Spike Lee has opened up about his statement on skipping the Oscars this year and clarified that he never used the word "boycott". Lee previously announced via Instagram that he and his wife would not attend the Academy Awards.

Lee appeared on Good Morning America and said: "Feb. 28th, we'll be at the world's most famous arena, Madison Square Garden, to see my beloved orange and blue hopefully beat the Miami Heat. I'm going to the game."

The American director also clarified that he never used the word "boycott" and said: "Here's the thing. I have never used the word boycott," Lee said on the show. "All I said was my beautiful wife Tonya, we're not coming. That's it, then I gave the reasons, so I never used the word boycott."

"It's like do you. We're not coming," he said. "I'm not going. My wife's not going. Everyone else can do what they want to do."

Calling the Oscars a misdirection play, the director shared: "This whole Academy thing is a misdirection play. We're chasing a guy down the field, he doesn't even have the ball. The other guy's high-stepping in the end zone. It goes further than the Academy Awards. It has to go back to the gatekeepers. We're not in the room. The executives, when they have these greenlight meetings quarterly, they look at the scripts and see who's in it and decide what we're making and what we're not making."

Lee in his Instagram post had said he and his wife would be skipping the Oscars due to lack of diversity. He wrote: "My Wife, Mrs. Tonya Lewis Lee And I Will Not Be Attending The Oscar Ceremony This Coming February. We Cannot Support It And Mean No Disrespect To My Friends, Host Chris Rock and Producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs And The Academy. But, How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White?"

#OscarsSoWhite... Again. I Would Like To Thank President Cheryl Boone Isaacs And The Board Of Governors Of The Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Sciences For Awarding Me an Honorary Oscar This Past November. I Am Most Appreciative. However My Wife, Mrs. Tonya Lewis Lee And I Will Not Be Attending The Oscar Ceremony This Coming February. We Cannot Support It And Mean No Disrespect To My Friends, Host Chris Rock and Producer Reggie Hudlin, President Isaacs And The Academy. But, How Is It Possible For The 2nd Consecutive Year All 20 Contenders Under The Actor Category Are White? And Let's Not Even Get Into The Other Branches. 40 White Actors In 2 Years And No Flava At All. We Can't Act?! WTF!! It's No Coincidence I'm Writing This As We Celebrate The 30th Anniversary Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday. Dr. King Said "There Comes A Time When One Must Take A Position That Is Neither Safe, Nor Politic, Nor Popular But He Must Take It Because Conscience Tells Him It's Right". For Too Many Years When The Oscars Nominations Are Revealed, My Office Phone Rings Off The Hook With The Media Asking Me My Opinion About The Lack Of African-Americans And This Year Was No Different. For Once, (Maybe) I Would Like The Media To Ask All The White Nominees And Studio Heads How They Feel About Another All White Ballot. If Someone Has Addressed This And I Missed It Then I Stand Mistaken. As I See It, The Academy Awards Is Not Where The "Real" Battle Is. It's In The Executive Office Of The Hollywood Studios And TV And Cable Networks. This Is Where The Gate Keepers Decide What Gets Made And What Gets Jettisoned To "Turnaround" Or Scrap Heap. This Is What's Important. The Gate Keepers. Those With "The Green Light" Vote. As The Great Actor Leslie Odom Jr. Sings And Dances In The Game Changing Broadway Musical HAMILTON, "I WANNA BE IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS". People, The Truth Is We Ain't In Those Rooms And Until Minorities Are, The Oscar Nominees Will Remain Lilly White. (Cont'd)
A photo posted by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on Jan 18, 2016 at 5:03am PST

The Academy Awards has come under fire for not including minorities in the top award categories for the second consecutive year. The lack of diversity among this year's nominees has sparked the social media hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.

The Oscars 2016 will air on ABC on February 28.

Oscars 2016