Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith say they will boycott this year's Oscars. Photo / AP
Diversity - or the lack of it - among Academy Award nominees has overshadowed this year's Oscars, but 44 per cent of Americans do not support the idea of boycotting the movie industry's biggest night, according to a Reuters/Ispsos poll.
Yet that does not mean Americans are happy with the
way Hollywood portrays people of colour, or that it makes enough movies that appeal to minorities, the poll showed.
The findings come a month after a furore over the omission of any actors of colour among the 20 lead and supporting acting nominees for a second straight year, and the absence from the best picture contest of critically acclaimed hip-hop movie Straight Outta Compton.
The omissions prompted directors Spike Lee and Michael Moore, along with actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, to say that they would stay at home on the night of the February 28 Oscars ceremony in protest.
Civil rights activist the Reverend Al Sharpton and some groups have called on the public to hold demonstrations and to "tune-out" the ceremony, which is usually watched by about 40 million Americans on television.
