Oscar-winner jokes about boycott and pokes fun at Smith’s cod-Nigerian accent in Concussion at the American black film festival awards

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Jamie Foxx has reportedly told fellow actors of colour threatening a boycott of the Oscars over its all-white nominees to #actbetter if they want to win the top prize.

Appearing at the American black film festival awards on Sunday, the Oscar-winner joked that he and Denzel Washington were unimpressed with complaints over the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ failure to nominate a single actor of colour for the second year in a row.

“All these Oscar talks, I don’t even trip about that,” said Foxx, according to US Weekly. “I mean, what’s the big deal? I was sitting at home with my Oscar, like ‘What’s all the hubbub?’”

According to Page Six, Fox added: “Me and Denzel were like, ‘Hashtag what’s the big deal? Hashtag act better.’”

Foxx cited the attitude of Sidney Poitier, who became the first black winner of the best actor Oscar in 1964 for his turn in Lilies of the Field. “I was with Sidney Poitier just a couple weeks ago, and in 1963 all he asked for was an opportunity to act,” Foxx said. “That’s all we have to do: opportunity. If you turn the camera on and say, ‘OK … win an award … and action,’ we’ll all have taken 10 steps back. It’s all about the art. Who cares about anything else?”

According to Page Six, Foxx also poked fun at Will Smith’s cod-Nigerian accent in Concussion. Smith has denied that the joint decision with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith to boycott the Oscars over diversity has anything to do with his failure to pick up a best actor nomination for his turn as forensic pathologist Dr Bennet Omalu in Peter Landesman’s film.

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The 2016 Oscars ceremony will take place at the Dolby theatre in Los Angeles this Sunday, 28 February. Spike Lee, Tyrese Gibson and Michael Moore are among other notable figures who have called for a boycott or signalled that they will not be attending over diversity.