David Oyelowo: Will Smith’s Oscars slap must not damage push for inclusion

David Oyelowo (Ian West/PA)

Actor David Oyelowo has said he is concerned that Will Smith’s Oscars slap will be detrimental to the “ongoing push for inclusion”, adding it “should not be a springboard for proxy arguments in Hollywood circles about race, respectability and belonging”.

The Selma actor – who played Martin Luther King in the film that triggered much of the #OscarsSoWhite debate in 2015, when the movie was overlooked in all categories except best picture and original song – said he has noted coded language being used to discuss the incident.