"It’s one of the worst shows in town if you’re there"- When Dustin Hoffman spoke out about missing the Oscars

Dustin Hoffman has had a long and fulfilling career, with works that surpass time and age. He has also been an influential figure in the formation of New Hollywood and is currently considered a living legend in the industry. Being someone with that much experience, Hoffman also has some distinct opinions that come from so many decades of experience in the industry.

For instance, Dustin Hoffman delivered a controversial opinion on the famed Oscars, calling it "one of the worst shows in town." He discussed this after he did not attend the Oscars in 2016 and went to the New York Knicks game instead. He also revealed in this same interview with The Guardian about how he encountered his friend Spike Lee in this same interview.

Adressing not going to the Oscars, Dustin Hoffman said:

"I wasn’t invited, I wasn’t nominated and I would never go just to go,...It’s one of the worst shows in town if you’re there. Because they break for commercials, the show just goes on and on. The Baftas are wonderful; you sit in a theatre, there’s champagne, you can get drunk and you just watch the show, Leonard Fry [sic] or whatever from beginning to end. So I was very happy to be at the Knicks game."

Interestingly, Dustin Hoffman has won two Academy Awards for his roles in Kramer vs Kramer and Rain Man, both of which remain relevant pieces of art even now. That particular year, many, including Spike Lee, boycotted the event for the lack of exclusivity at the Oscars.

In this same interview, Hoffman opened up about numerous things, including the lack of equality between men and women in the industry.

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"The lowliest camera assistant is usually a woman"- Dustin Hoffman on the existing inequality in the film industry

Just like many other stars have pointed out, there still seems to exist a divide in Hollywood that numerous attempts are failing to bridge. Though Hoffman spoke in 2016, he claimed that inequality very much existed in Hollywood, especially when it came to the gender divide. This has been pointed out by many other actors and creatives, too.

Speaking about this in the same interview with The Guardian, Hoffman said:

"There’s a lack of diversity in women vis-a-vis men – it’s always been that way on the set,...Now you still shoot 35mm film, mostly I’m aware of the fact that the lowliest camera assistant is usually a woman and her job, ironically, is usually to carry the magazines of film, which are very heavy. It seems always to go to the woman – she’s given the worst job."

While it is still a long process, eminent actors like Dustin Hoffman speaking out about this is important for change, if it ever were ever to come.

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In his distinguished career, which has spanned seven decades now, Hoffman has won two Academy Awards, four BAFTA Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, among uncountable achievements.

Some of his movies, like Midnight Cowboy (1969), Lenny (1974), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), and The Graduate (1967), have permanently etched themselves in the history books of Hollywood.