The Oscars

Alfonso Ribeiro's got a message for his pal Will Smith -- don't sweat the Oscars, 'cause they're just not that big of a deal.

Alfonso told us he thinks black people "have bigger fish to fry than the Oscars." In fact, he has a different perspective -- in Hollywood, anyway -- about awards in general.

What's odd is he's still waving the flag for Will to win one of those trophies, and he's got a take on all the Oscar protests.

Check out rebel Carlton! Not often ya get to see that.

Gabrielle Union is a baaad woman -- she just fired back at Stacey Dash and took down Ronda Rousey as collateral damage in her feud with Dash.

We got Gabby at LAX Tuesday ... on her way back from the Sundance Film Festival, where she dissed Stacey for suggesting the BET Awards should be canceled to make the Oscars more diverse. Gabby's reaction was the classic ... "Stacey Dash who?"

Watch the clip ... Ronda got dragged into this when photogs hinted Union and Dash's beef might get physical. Gabrielle also celebrated another victory ... her movie, "The Birth of a Nation" and a record-setting day at Sundance.

All she does is win.

Nick Cannon is lashing out at the Oscars for giving black actors the shaft this year, but unlike other protesters, Nick struck back ... in spoken word.

Nick penned, and then recorded, the poem/rap that covers the entire Oscars controversy -- including a shout-out to Chris Rock. Nick supports him hosting the show, saying ... "Hell, yeah, I'm gonna watch that ceremony where they gonna let a black man be the Master for at least two hours."

It's not clear if Nick's saying screw the Oscars altogether, like Jada Pinkett Smith, or demanding more black involvement in the Oscars voting process ... like Nick's "Chi-Raq" director Spike Lee said.

Either way ... man's got rhymes.

Chris Rock was a man of few words Saturday night as he left The Comedy Club.

As he and pal Dave Chappelle left, our photog asked about the push for a host boycott.

Clint Eastwood -- five-time Oscar winner and eleven-time nominee -- has some advice for people who got snubbed at the Academy Awards this year ... quit whining.

Eastwood -- an Academy stalwart -- isn't buying into the protests over the so-called black snub.

The Motion Picture Academy is getting some "brothas on the wall" -- to quote Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing" -- after unanimously voting to increase its minority and female membership.

Thursday night's vote -- a clear reaction to outrage over a lack of black Oscar nominees recently -- will not affect this year's ceremony, but instead aims to double the Academy's diversity by 2020.

Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said they will immediately begin recruiting new minority members. She also announced new rules to ensure that the only members who get to vote on Oscar nominees will be those who are still actively making films.

Bottom line: If you're an Academy member who's old and out of touch with the latest movie culture ... your days might be numbered.

What the vote doesn't address is what Spike talked about -- which is more minorities at the studio level who decide which films get made.

Charlotte Rampling is one of the 20 white people nominated for an acting award at this year's Oscars ... and she thinks people who have a problem with that are racist.

Rampling -- who scored a Best Actress nom for her role in the movie "45 Years" -- told Radio 1 in France she finds the outrage over the absence of minorities to be "racist to whites."

In the interview, conducted in French, Rampling went on to say, "You never know if it was really the case, but perhaps the black players do not deserve to be in the final stretch."

Tony Rock took multiple, super-strong positions on the black Oscar snub, supporting his brother Chris hosting the show while blasting black people for repeatedly begging for white acceptance.

Tony's diatribe is pretty amazing ... like Jada Pinkett Smith, he's not calling for a boycott of the Oscars, but he's done with futile attempts at validation.

This one's definitely worth a listen.

Will Smith will spend Oscar night with his wife Jada Pinkett Smith and not at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood.

Will went on "Good Morning America" to talk about The Oscars, the lack of black nominees, and Jada's stance that black filmmakers should stop begging white Hollywood for acceptance.

As for why he won't be at the award show, he said it feels "uncomfortable to stand there and say that this is ok."

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Spike Lee has already said he's skipping the show and there have been calls from some African-American stars for Chris Rock to step down as host.

Ice Cube thinks he knows what would've help him snag an Oscar nomination for best picture ... a slave.

Cube went on Angie Martinez's Power 105.1 show and blasted the Academy, saying he wasn't about to kiss their ass for affirmation of "Straight Outta Compton."

This one's gotta sting over at the Academy.

Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee now have a powerful ally in Quincy Jones, who's flexing his influence with the Academy Awards to address its lack of black nominees.

The legendary producer is the first African American on the Academy's board of governors and on Wednesday he told reporters, "We've got to find a solution. It's been going on for too long."

Quincy said he planned to ask for 5 minutes in front of the board to discuss the hottest topic in Hollywood, and if they don't give him the time ... he says he'll refuse to present at the Oscars.

He's supposed to present an award with Common and Pharrell Williams.

Jada Pinkett Smith is starting to catch heat for adorning her living room with what appears to be some sort of ivory tusk ... but we've learned it's as fake as a Big Foot sex tape.

We're told the tusks -- there are actually 2 of them -- are ceramic and hollow.

For the record, it's illegal to buy and sell elephant tusks.

Get the point?

Spike Lee says Hollywood needs to take its cue from the NFL -- forcing studios to institute a "Rooney Rule" ... requiring studios to greenlight a certain number of movies featuring minorities.

Lee was on 'GMA' Wednesday morning when he said the problem with the Oscars is deeper than who gets nominated -- it's the fact black movies and black actors aren't getting the opportunities in the Hollywood boardrooms.

That's why Lee wants a "Rooney Rule" -- an NFL policy that requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for head coaching and minority jobs.

Lee feels that someone needs to force Hollywood to hit a mandatory quota when it comes to making minority films.

Watch the clip ... seems Michael Strahan is down to play the role of enforcer.

Spike Lee has corrected the media for reporting he was calling for an Oscar boycott.

Spike appeared on 'GMA' and made it clear ... blasting the Academy for shutting out black actors and films and vowing not to attend the ceremony is NOT the same as calling for a boycott.

Lee said he and his wife would be at the Knicks game at Madison Square Garden the night of the Oscars, and everyone else can either attend or not ... not his business.

There were lots of reports Jada Pinkett Smith also called for a boycott, which she did not. She said it's time for African Americans to stop begging the Academy for acceptance and do their own thing in their own community.

As for Chris Rock, Spike's making no judgment on whether he should still host.

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Tyrese is telling Chris Rock to bail out on his Oscars hosting gig because it's a no-win situation for the comedian.

Tyrese put the pressure on Chris, saying ... "There is no joke you can crack to ever change the way we all feel." 50 Cent similarly encouraged him to quit.

Chris is in a tough spot -- enough people, including Jada Pinkett Smith, Spike Lee and Snoop Dogg ... have blasted the Academy's lack of diversity. So, it's obvious he'll have to address the matter during the Oscars broadcast.

But Tyrese's point -- this is one situation where Rock's comedic skills won't be appropriate. So far, Rock's standing firm.

Snoop Dogg went off on the Oscars ... not just calling for a boycott, but saying it's a personal affront to all African Americans.

We didn't censor the video because it would have ruined the impact.

Point made.