--- title: Oscars So White: Marco Rubio: Hollywood Has Bigger Problems description: "Hollywood has bigger problems than that." canonical: https://time.com/4205016/marco-rubio-oscars-so-white/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-02T21:06:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:25.890Z article:section: Politics og:title: Rubio: Hollywood Has Bigger Problems Than 'Oscars So White' og:description: "Hollywood has bigger problems than that." og:url: https://time.com/4205016/marco-rubio-oscars-so-white/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a4bb98ef480ceca/69887bd23c16394e9c45bd67/marco-rubio.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) addresses supporters at a caucus night party at the Marriott hotel on February 1, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rubio: Hollywood Has Bigger Problems Than 'Oscars So White' twitter:description: "Hollywood has bigger problems than that." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7a4bb98ef480ceca/69887bd23c16394e9c45bd67/marco-rubio.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rubio Says Hollywood Has Bigger Problems Than 'Oscars So White' > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=aad498b0-a929-44bb-b160-68aa41a4d33d&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [Zeke J Miller / Manchester, N.H.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Manchester, N.H. Feb 2, 2016 9:06 PM UTC  Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) addresses supporters at a caucus night party at the Marriott hotel on February 1, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. Republican presidential candidate, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) addresses supporters at a caucus night party at the Marriott hotel on February 1, 2016 in Des Moines, Iowa. Pete Marovich—Getty Images by [Zeke J Miller / Manchester, N.H.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Manchester, N.H. Feb 2, 2016 9:06 PM UTC Florida Senator Marco Rubio declined to weigh in on the controversy surrounding the lack of diversity in Academy Award nominations Tuesday. In an interview with CNN taped at the Puritan Backroom restaurant in Manchester, N.H., the afternoon after his third-place finish in the Iowa caucus, the youthful lawmaker was asked whether the Oscars are “too white.” “I don’t know. What does that mean?” the candidate replied. The CNN anchor tried again. “That’s the rap on it — pardon the pun — that there aren’t enough people of color who are nominated,” said Alisyn Camerota. “Hollywood has bigger problems than that,” Rubio continued, saying he was familiar with the controversy, but adding, “I haven’t been following that very closely.” Rubio told Camerota he still hasn’t seen _Straight Outta Compton_, the film whose Oscar snub helped precipitate the growing conversation over diversity in Hollywood. “I want to see the movie. I haven’t seen the movie,” he said, adding he couldn’t weigh in on the snub because he hadn’t seen the film. Rubio said he thought more significant than racial-diversity issues was Hollywood’s values posing a challenge to parents seeking to educate their children with their faith’s values. “I think the bigger problem with Hollywood is the values they are trying to ram down our kids’ throats and how hard it’s made it on parents,” he said. Camerota had asked Rubio about his musical tastes, with Rubio, a longtime hip-hop fan, saying he’s shifted away from the genre in recent years because the lyrics are inappropriate for his children. “You know, people know this, that over the last couple of years I’ve gotten really into electronic dance music, so Avicii and Calvin Harris,” he said. “The lyrics are clean, so I can listen to it in front of my kids without worrying about it.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4205016/marco-rubio-oscars-so-white/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4205016/marco-rubio-oscars-so-white/"},"headline":"Rubio Says Hollywood Has Bigger Problems Than 'Oscars So White'","datePublished":"2016-02-02T21:06:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:48:25.890Z","description":"'Hollywood has bigger problems than that'","url":"https://time.com/4205016/marco-rubio-oscars-so-white/","keywords":["2016 Election","Hollywood","Oscars","Sen. 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