You don't get an Oscar for the color of your skin, you get it for acting out of it

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I get it. Your husband wasn't nominated so you are not going and are going to sulk instead. But Jada Pinkett-Smith, at your age, you should know better

Look, I get it. Your husband wasn't nominated for a prize. So you are not going to turn up to the prize-giving and are going to have a sulk instead.

As a mother of three kids under 12, I understand. Losing out is hard and sometimes stomping off to your bedroom seems like a good alternative.

But frankly, Jada Pinkett-Smith, at your age, you should know better.

I know you feel like the world is on your side. It seems everyone is outraged there are no black nominees for the Oscars 2016. Others have agreed to boycott the event and Don Cheadle has joked he'll be in the basement parking cars.

In truth, Will Smith wasn't nominated because he wasn't good enough. Critics said his acting was mediocre at best.

Unfortunately, the Oscars don't have a special category for 'best black actor giving a mediocre performance in a film about NFL with an angry wife'. If they did, Will would be a shoe-in.

Jada said begging for acknowledgement diminishes our dignity and power. But she has done exactly that, like a kid craving attention, whether good or bad.

And here's the rub. Joining the boycott, signaling solidarity with other mediocre performances by black actors this year, we are all supposed to be outraged on their behalf, too.

Ricky Gervais has led the charge, followed closely by George Clooney who has been quick to decry #OscarsSoWhite, saying Hollywood is moving in the wrong direction when it comes to diversity.

That's the correct thing to say, so everyone is saying it. It is the right opinion to have - as if opinions could ever by right or wrong.

Will Smith missed out on a nomination for his recent film, Concussion. Unfortunately, the Oscars don't have a special category for 'best black actor giving a mediocre performance in a film about NFL with an angry wife'. If they did, Will would be a shoe-in

Jada Pinkett-Smith released a video (left) announcing she would not be attending the Academy Awards due to a lack of diversity among this year's nominees. Others have agreed to boycott the event and Don Cheadle (right) has joked he'll be in the basement parking cars

Saying anything else is the equivalent of waving a massive Confederate flag over your head, sticking on a KKK hood and declaring yourself to be a screaming racist.

No matter that the silent majority does not buy into the idea the Oscars are too white this year. There is nothing to be gained by speaking out.

'It's a powder keg and no one is going there,' said one established film-maker, a political conservative who declined to be named. 'There's no upside to getting involved.'

No one has the spine to stand up and say: You, Will Smith, were average. As for you, Michael B Jordan? Any man can build muscle, and Sly did it better.

Simply put, none of you were good enough this year.

Now, perhaps you want change. Perhaps you are demanding change.

Perhaps Chris Rock will be obliged by his people to stand down as host to help make the sound of your stomping feet and slamming doors resonate a little more widely

Maybe you stand with the Oscars' President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, who says she is 'heartbroken and frustrated' over the lack of diversity this year and is going to make sure this never happens again.

I wonder if it will make you happy if the Class of 2017 has guaranteed black representation — a quota, if you will.

Ricky Gervais has led the outraged charge, followed closely by George Clooney who has been quick to decry #OscarsSoWhite, saying Hollywood is moving in the wrong direction when it comes to diversity. Saying anything else is the equivalent of waving a massive Confederate flag over your head, sticking on a KKK hood and declaring yourself to be a screaming racist

What then for the winners? Will they feel confident they won because of their ability or simply out of respect for their color? I certainly would not want to have that same doubt.

I have never applied for a job where there was positive discrimination for women. I want to be recruited on merit, paid on performance and rewarded on results, or I will not compete at all.

Maybe, out of dissatisfaction with the lack of diversity at the actual Oscars, a new awards ceremony will be created to ensure black voices are heard.

But then what have you become? What's the point of demanding diversity, then holding events which promote exclusivity?

Which is worse? Hyper-sensitivity to perceived racism or the certainty of tokenism?

If you rank your 'isms' where does tokenism fall?

The Oscars 2016 has a brilliant host, producer and President. All of whom are black.

But the nominees and winners were picked not for the color of their skin, but for their ability to perform out of it.

And that's just the way it's supposed to be. 

Oscars' President, Cheryl Boone Isaacs, (right) says she is 'heartbroken and frustrated' over the lack of diversity this year and is going to make sure this never happens again. But which is worse? Hyper-sensitivity to perceived racism or the certainty of tokenism?