The famed author said he would “never consider diversity in matters of art.”
Author Stephen King got ratioed on Twitter by some big names who adamantly rejected his opinion about diversity in the arts.
King first tweeted out on Tuesday that as an author, he is allowed to put forward contenders in three categories for the Academy Awards and went on to comment on “the diversity issue.”
“I would never consider diversity in matters of art. Only quality,” the tweet said. The single post quickly racked up over 11.8K replies, most of which criticized King’s “bad take” and far outnumbered any show of support.
The “Rage” author immediately drew the ire from an array of celebrities, including award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay.
Followed by famed author Roxane Gay, who questioned why diversity and quality couldn’t be synonymous.
Latinx Disney star Dani Fernandez challenged King’s tweet with her own response about a lack of diversity among voters.
We Have Stories founder and author Frederick Joseph also weighed in and said, “The interesting thing is that diversity generally leads to more interesting, relatable, and higher quality art.”
Many others stated that while they “respect” and are fans of King’s works, they could not support that notion.
Even more users replied with GIFs including a hypocrisy meter, people cringing or appearing to be completely shocked, while some kept their replies short and simple.
While commenters who agreed with King were sparse, some users did find ways to side with the famed author.
King followed up the first two tweets a couple hours later expanding on his initial thought, but has not apologized in the wake of the backlash.
