Maria Puente

USA TODAY

President Obama had something to say about the Oscars diversity debate, even though he was actually supposed to be talking about healthcare.

The president spent part of Wednesday in a round of interviews in Washington with TV anchors from Richmond, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Salt Lake City, Denver, Los Angeles and Oakland, talking about the Affordable Care Act and ramping up enrollment for health-insurance coverage.

Naturally, the ABC affiliate station in Los Angeles asked him about the big local story there: the outcry over two straight years of all-white acting nominees for the Academy Awards.

The Oscars ceremony is Feb. 28; already some stars (Spike Lee, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith) have said they're doing something else that night, in protest.

Obama said the diversity debate is an expression of a broader issue: "Are we making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot?"

It's also an issue of artistic integrity, he said. "I think that when everyone's story is told then that makes for better art," he said.



"It makes for better entertainment, it makes everybody feel part of one American family, so I think as a whole the industry should do what every other industry should do which is to look for talent, provide opportunity to everybody.

"And I think the Oscar debate is really just an expression of this broader issue. Are we making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot?"

Also on Wednesday, Obama crossed paths with Oscar winner and Hollywood honcho Steven Spielberg at the Israeli Embassy, when he spoke at the Righteous Among the Nations award ceremony, posthumously honoring an American Marine for actions he took as a prisoner of war in World War II.

Contributing: The Associated Press