Public Enemy’s Professor Griff Not Happy With the Oscars’ Use of “Fight the Power”

The 2016 Academy Awards were under fire the moment the nominees were announced and every single category was dominated by white actors and directors. During Sunday's (Feb. 28) broadcast, ABC opened and closed the show with Public's Enemy's "Fight the Power" and the members of PE have been chiming in with their thoughts on the use of the protest song.

Professor Griff, Public Enemy's Minister of Information, told TMZ that the use of "Fight the Power" was disrespectful and that the Academy does not have any real investment in the black community. He told the outlet that he thinks, "the Academy was just paying lip service to black protestors and will go right back to business as usual."

"The show can't claim the blackness of Public Enemy's message," he added.

Yesterday (Feb. 29), PE frontman Chuck D took to Twitter and called the Oscars a "trade show" and called for black communities and schools to invest more time and money into the arts so the culture is better represented in the entertainment business in the future.

“The song ‘Fight the Power’ is beyond me and the crew,” he tweeted. “The point of the song is a call to making change eventually, not just applauding the thought…Fight the power. Make change. Demand respect. Do your own awards RIGHT and give indie artists and actors a chance to make a LIVING.”

“I don’t wanna hear about Oscars being white,” he continued. “Oscars been white. We need black communities to support our ARTS as much as we do sports in my opinion."

“Fight the Power” is a single from Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet album. Though the project came out over 25 years ago, many of the lyrics still resonate in today’s world.

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