The Oscars Academy was recently crucified for a lack of ethnic diversity among their 2015 nominations. It’s the second year in a row a person of color hasn’t received a nod for major category.

Everyone from celebrities to activists have criticized and even boycotted the awards even if they were invited. President Obama was recently asked what he thought about the Oscars situation and relayed that it’s only part of a bigger issue of stifled opportunity in America for some.

"As a whole, the industry should do what every other industry should do, which is to look for talent and provide opportunity to everybody," Obama said to CNN affiliate KABC during a White House interview. "And I think the Oscar debate is really just an expression of this broader issue of are we making sure that everybody is getting a fair shot?"

The President also explained why he believes diversity makes movies or anything else creative better and more artistic.

"I think that when everybody's story is told, then that makes for better art; it makes for better entertainment; it makes everybody feel part of one American family," he said.

The past two years aren’t the only ones that were controversial for the The Academy. It’s long been criticized for its voting panel being mostly white males and in 1996 faced protest for Hollywood's racism in general.

It was also recently announced that the cast of Straight Outta Compton wasn’t invited to attend The Oscars. The Academy is notoriously stingy with tickets, but have made exceptions in the past for those not being nominated for a major award.

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