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Nick Cannon says Oscars boycott is a distraction

Los Angeles - Nick Cannon insists high profile black celebrities shouldn't "waste their voice" slamming the lack of diversity in the Academy Awards nominations. 

The America's Got Talent host has shared a two-minute clip of him reading out a poem called Oscar, in which he slams the Oscars as being "fake gold and plastic" and says his fellow stars should be voicing their opinions about more important struggles, such as issues in Syria. 

In the black and white video uploaded on his Facebook account, the 35-year-old rapper - is seen sitting on a staircase as he recites the powerful poem.

Watch it here:

Nick's poem comes after high-profile stars including Jada Pinkett Smith and Spike Lee decided to boycott the ceremony because of a lack of diversity in the nominations. 

Following the comments, which has led to a #OscarsSoWhite hashtag trending on Twitter, Charlotte Rampling - who is up for Best Actress at this year's Academy Awards for her role in movie 45 Years - said it would be "racist to whites" for those snubbing the Oscars not to attend. 

But the star has since admitted she regrets her comments, and insists she was "misinterpreted". 

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