Yahoo News John Leguizamo Is Boycotting 2020 Emmys over Latinx Snubs: 'What's the Point?'
Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage
John Leguizamo is boycotting the 2020 Emmy Awards.
The actor, 56, explained in a video interview with Yahoo! Entertainment that he will not be tuning into the ceremony due to the lack of Latinx nominees.
"I'm boycotting," Leguizamo told Yahoo. "If you don't have Latin people, there's no reason for me to see it. What's the point?"
"It's unbelievable that our stories aren't being told and there's one reason for that," Leguizamo said. "Executives don't see us, don't get us [and] don't care about us."
"We're less than one percent of the stories being told by Hollywood streamers and networks, that's cultural apartheid," he added.
There is only one Latinx or Hispanic nominee in the major categories this year: Alexis Bledel, who is up for outstanding guest actress in a drama series for The Handmaid's Tale.
A rep for the Television Academy did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment on Leguizamo's boycott.
In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, the Television Academy noted the increase in recognition of actors of color at the Emmys — but admitted that more work needs to be done.
Theo Wargo/WireImage John Leguizamo
(A record number of Black actors received Emmy Award nominations this year. After the nominees were revealed, Variety reported that 34.3 percent of the acting nominees are Black. There are a total of 102 acting nominees across the categories.)
"We feel it is a very positive sign that over the past decade the well-deserved recognition of performers of color has increased from 1 in 10 to 1 in 3 nominees across all performer categories," the Television Academy told the Times.
RELATED: Record Number of Black Actors Receive Emmy Award Nominations
"Clearly that increase in representation has not been equal for all groups, and clearly there is still more to do to improve both gender and racial representation across all categories," the statement concluded.
Leguizamo's decision to boycott the 2020 Emmys comes after he made his directorial feature film debut with the film Critical Thinking, which premiered on Sept. 4.
Leguizamo stars as Mario Martinez, a Miami high school teacher determined to lead his underserved Black and Latinx students to the National Chess Championship — despite challenges standing in their way.
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on Sept. 20 on ABC.
