John Leguizamo takes out full-page ad to urge Emmy voters to back non-white candidates: ‘I’m still woke’

nypost.com:

Leguizamo wrote on X, alongside two pictures of his advertisement.The liberal actor said white people are overrepresented in top positions across tech, banking, medicine, streaming and Hollywood.“America is better when it is inclusive.

It is more profitable. It is more creative! Let’s not give up. I’m still woke! Are you?” he wrote.Leguizamo’s advertisement came in the form of a giant “Open Letter to The Television Academy.” He urged voters to see artists of color represented across all categories.“I know you’re tired of hearing words like ‘inclusivity’ and ‘diversity’ – treading water while you try to understand how to put actions behind these sentiments,” he wrote.Leguizamo’s letter noted that hundreds of prolific non-white artists deserve to be considered for awards, not because of their ethnicity but because they have “achieved greatness with a foot on their neck for too long.”“Let this be the start of a new era,” he wrote. “Let us not continue to whitewash our award shows.

Instead, let this year be the catalyst that inspires the next generation of minority and underrepresented artists… a generation who might finally see a reflection of themselves on that stage and think… ‘If they can, maybe I can too.'”Concerns about award show diversity have been a significant topic in Hollywood for years.The Los Angeles Times reported that from 2015 to 2019, 82% of the nominees across 19 Emmy categories were White.Leguizamo has been an most outspoken liberal voice on social and political issues in Hollywood over the last several years.In a May interview with Salon, the “Ice Age” and “Super Mario Bros.” actor said Latino Americans do not understand that former President Trump was really the person who damaged the economy, not.