BOB Marley has a song that says: “They got so much things to say right now, they got so much things to say!” And right now, a lot of people have so much to say about The Academy of Arts and Science and its awards show, The Oscars. A TV show that has seen dwindling ratings year after year has hit pay dirt with more viral media conversations, blog talk, tweets and Instagram hits than they ever imagined. And it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. But how did it all begin? Let’s start at the beginning.

November 2015, veteran director Spike Lee received an Honorary Academy Award at the Governors Awards. He addressed the lack of diversity in his acceptance speech, saying: “We need to get some flava up in here!” He was referring to the membership of the Academy which right now is made up of mostly white men (93 per cent), most of them over the age of 60. On Martin Luther King’s birthday observance, January 18, 2016, Spike followed up his comments on Twitter with #OscarsSoWhite: “How is it possible for the second-consecutive year all 20 contenders under the actor category are white? And let’s not even get into the other branches. 40 white actors in two years and no flava at all! we can’t act? WTH!”

Spike went on to say that he and his wife would not be attending this year’s Oscars. Spike’s latest film Chi- Raq did not do well at the box office and was controversial to say the least.

But it was the Twitter post of Jada Pinkett-Smith that really set it off stirring up a lot of conversation with a bit of consternation. In a very strong statement, Jada said: “Here is what I believe; the Academy has the right to acknowledge whomever they choose. To invite whomever they choose and now I think that it is our responsibility now to make the change.

She added: “Maybe it’s time we pull back our resources and put them back into our communities and to our programs and we make programs for ourselves.”

Pinkett-Smith, is married to Will Smith who was twice nominated for an Academy award (Ali 2001, The Pursuit of Happyness 2006) but was not nominated for his performance in his impactful film “ Concussion. There were those who felt it was not an Oscar-worthy performance, making mention of his less than perfect African accent.

And the conversation was off to a feverish start like folks talking about Trump versus Cruz versus Hillary versus Bernie! Everybody had something to say. The talented Mark Ruffalo said he felt for the women in the industry and how few there were. Hollywood elite George Clooney said: “I would also make the argument I don’t think it’s a problem of who you’re picking as much as it is how many options are available to minorities in film particularly in quality films.” If you know better then do better George.

Speaking fluent French, the once amazingly beautiful British actress and an Academy Award nominee for Best Actress, Charlotte Rampling, flipped the day of absence script by saying in a Paris interview that the supposed calls to ‘boycott’ this year’s Oscars were “racist against whites”. She went on to say that “sometimes maybe black actors didn’t deserve to make the shortlist”. Well Miss CHARLOTTE, many actors, directors, producers and writers of colour and I don’t just mean black; ‘sometimes’ is starting to look like all the time, at least for the past two years .

John Singleton — who became the first African-American to be nominated for Best Director by the Academy back in 1991 for his game-changing film Boys in the Hood — said: “There’s only so many slots. There are a couple of movies that may have warranted attention, but it’s all subjective. It’s almost like the lottery basically.”

John Singleton doesn’t seem to have a problem with this year’s lack of diversity and that’s his opinion. Nuff said baby boy, but with any lottery you’ve got to be in it to win it.

Oscar nominee Julie Delpy, attending this year’s Sundance Film Festival, said that “sometimes she wishes she were African-American” because of all of the backlash against feminists in Hollywood. Did she mean that there is no backlash against African-Americans and it’s easier for them than it is for a white woman in Hollywood? No, that couldn’t be it!

And the comments just keep coming.Sir Michael Caine, another British actor, said that the Black actors should “Just be patient. Maybe the performances weren’t Oscar-worthy”. Wait, did he even see young Abraham Attah in Beasts of Many Nations?

Comments took another turn when singer turned actor turned talk show host, Tyrese expressed his sentiments on Instagram using the hashtag #aggressiverant saying “This is my message to today’s lazy leaders. The ones who were so concerned about being blackballed out of this town and industry that they would rather sit on their hands and cry at home to their wives and girlfriends than do anything. The ones who only pop off and talk shenanigans on social media and do nothing. The ones who want to protest but only protest when it’s convenient. It’s sad sad, sad, to see that we are still living in a generation of “followers” and not enough real leaders.” Tyrese ended by calling out Chris rock saying, “ Is Chris Rock still going to host the Oscars after this blatant racism?

“The answer to that question would be yes. At least I think so. Yes, Chris Rock will show up and host The Oscars, even with Tyrese and 50cent urging him not to. After all, he will have an international platform with millions of viewers to deliver whatever message he might have, scripted or unscripted. Chris posted an Oscar promo video on his Twitter with the caption, “The #Oscars. The White BET Awards.”

Feeling the pressure and frustration, too, is the president of The Academy, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, a formidable entertainment industry woman. One does not get to be president of the Academy as a woman, certainly not a black woman, without having some chutzpah, or at the very least supreme self-confidence. When, for the second year in a row, an all-white slate of Oscar nominees in the acting categories is named under her watch, she realised that change had to come and come fast. And so in a unanimous vote, the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences approved a sweeping series of substantive changes designed to make the academies membership, it’s governing bodies and it’s voting members significantly more diverse. The board has a goal to commit to: doubling the number of women and diverse members of the Academy by 2020 . Boone-Isaacs said, “The Academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up.” Yessssss Madame President!

Diversity, when mandated from the top and is supported by leadership, whether it’s a country, a studio head or the president of The Academy of Arts and Science, actually works. When we have different types of people, different races, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, rich, poor, old or young, physical abilities or without physical abilities, religious beliefs, different spiritual beliefs, political beliefs, all the different forms and types of ideas wrapped around acceptance and respect, that’s diversity! And at its best, diversity is good for everyone!!

That’s all I’ve got to say.

* Sheryl Lee Ralph is an American actress, singer, and activist with Jamaican roots. She also originated the role of Deena Jones in the Broadway musicalDreamgirls.