The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences responded to actor David Oyelowo‘s claim that Academy members wouldn’t vote for the film “Selma” because the cast wore “I Can’t Breathe” T-shirts to the New York premiere in 2014.
“Six years ago, ‘Selma’ coincided with Eric Garner being murdered,” Oyelowo told Screen Daily.
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“I can’t breathe” was the phrase repeated by Eric Garner, a Black man who died in Staten Island, New York, in 2014 after now-fired NYPD cop Daniel Pantaleo put him in a chokehold during an arrest that was caught on video.
Garner’s death sparked protests in the United States and around the world, with people calling for justice and the end to police brutality.
In 2015 a female Academy member who wouldn’t give her name told the Hollywood Reporter that she was offended by the “Selma” cast wearing the ‘I Can’t Breathe” shirts, proving Oyelowo’s claim.
