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Andy Samberg to Academy Members Against New Diversity Rules: ‘F*ck Off’

Samberg had a strong message for voters while promoting his wildly popular summer Hulu film "Palm Springs" this awards season.
Andy Samberg attends the premiere of "Palm Springs" at the Library Center Theatre during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Andy Samberg
Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Andy Samberg has a strong message for members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who aren’t willing to accept the upcoming new diversity and inclusion standards. Samberg addressed the issue on a recent edition of Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast with Clayton Davis, as the comic actor is currently in the awards mix for his starring role in Hulu’s wildly popular summer film “Palm Springs.”

The issue came up because Samberg pointed to his comedy series “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” as a sterling example of inclusion and diversity behind of, and in front of the camera, done right. “It was fortuitous in terms of the Venn diagram of being inclusive, because they were great,” Samberg said of having Stephanie Beatriz and Melissa Fumero on the show. “We knew that [diversity] was important, but we also had no difficulty pulling the trigger.

“The Oscars thing, people having issues with that, it’s insane,” Samberg said. “The parameters, if you look at them closely, you could have the whitest cast in the history of cinema and still very easily meet them by just doing a few roles behind the camera. People that have problems with it can f*ck off.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ new metrics for inclusion — which call for Best Picture contenders to check a certain number of boxes to meet diversity requirements — have been hotly debated since announcing on September 8. While some argue this levels the playing field to allow for more diverse creators to make their stories known, others say this tampers with creative expression. (Bill Maher recently took the Academy to task for the decision.)

The new measures don’t take effect until the 2024 Oscars.

Samberg stars in “Brooklyn Nine-Nine,” which finished airing its seventh season in the spring, and was quickly snapped by NBC for a eighth-season renewal. Samberg says that the writers are still trying to figure out now only how to integrate COVID-19, but also address the issue of police brutality on the cop comedy show.

Head over to Variety to listen to the full podcast, which also includes a conversation with “Palm Springs” co-star Cristin Milioti.

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