Danny DeVito Responds to Oscar's Lack of Diversity; Actor Calls America a "Racist Country"

Controversy has surrounded the 88th annual Academy Award nominations ever since they were announced earlier this month and more celebrities are voicing their opinion on the matter. During the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday (Jan. 23), actor Danny DeVito spoke with the Associated Press about the Oscar's lack of diversity, calling America a "racist country."

Some of Hollywood's biggest names headed to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah over the weekend to debut their films and to screen others. With award season still fresh on everyone's mind, many stars talked about their new movies hitting the big screen and added their opinions on the #OscarsSoWhite discussion.

The It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is one of the latest actors to address the diversity issue in Hollywood, citing the country's histroy with racism. DeVito shed light on the unfair practices performed in the industry and explained how many people in the business are overlooked.

"It's unfortunate that the entire country is a racist country," DeVito said. "This is one example of the fact that even though some people have given great performances in movies they weren't even thought about."

Following the uproar of complaints, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recently announced they will be implementing new guidelines in order to ensure changes are made, including a significant increase of diversity within their organization and with their voting members.

The video also included short interviews with House of Lies star Don Cheadle and Peaky Blinders star Sam Neill, who both shared similar sentiments about the scarcity of diversity. Cheadle believes there are fewer opportunities available for marginalized groups.

"We are living in a country that discriminates and has certain racist tendencies so sometimes it's manifested in things like this and it's illuminated," DeVito continued on Saturday. "But just generally speaking we're racists. We are a bunch of racists."

The 2016 Oscars are scheduled to take place on Sunday (Feb. 28) at 7 p.m. ET on ABC.