Obama weighs in on controversy over all-white Oscar slate

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President Barack Obama, left, and filmmaker Steven Spielberg, right, embrace at the Righteous Among the Nations Award Ceremony at the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. Obama spoke as four people were being honored posthumously for risking their lives to protect Jews during the Holocaust. He became the first sitting president to speak at the embassy. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has weighed in on the outcry over two straight years of all-white acting nominees for the Academy Awards.

Obama says the Oscar debate is an expression of a broader issue: “Are we making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot?”

Obama spent part of Wednesday talking to local television stations about ramping up enrolment for health insurance coverage. But the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles, KABC, asked Obama about this year’s Oscar controversy.

The Academy Awards take place next month. Some are calling for boycotts because no acting nominees were black.

Obama says the film industry should do what others should do as well: “Look for talent and provide opportunity to everybody.”

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