*Sports commentator Jason Whitlock is not buying Michael B. Jordan’s Best Actor Oscar win.
In a post on X.com, Whitlock argued that Jordan’s Academy Award for his performance in “Sinners” was not the result of superior acting but rather a product of the entertainment industry’s push around diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Whitlock did not hold back in his assessment of the film or its lead. He called “Sinners” “hot garbage” and described Jordan’s performance as “mid at best.” To drive his point home, he put forward a list of five Black actors he believes had stronger claims to the honor over the years — Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Jamie Foxx, Forrest Whitaker, and Will Smith — framing Jordan’s win as a slight against their more deserving legacies.
Black men who earned their Oscars.
Sidney Poitier
Denzel Washington
Jamie Foxx
Forrest Whitaker
Will SmithBlack who won DEI Oscars
Michael B. JordanSinners was hot garbage and Jordan’s acting was mid at best. https://t.co/zXXMcwTzbR
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) March 16, 2026
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The post landed with mixed results among Whitlock’s followers. One commenter pushed back firmly, arguing that the dual role Jordan delivered in “Sinners” — playing twin characters Smoke and Stack in Ryan Coogler’s vampire period film — was a genuine acting achievement, and that the Academy’s history of factoring in a performer’s broader body of work further justified the recognition.
Jordan himself honored the performers who came before during his Oscar acceptance speech. He name-checked Poitier, Washington, Halle Berry, Foxx, Whitaker, and Will Smith, calling them giants and ancestors, before turning his attention to his supporters.
“Thank you everybody in this room and everybody at home for supporting me over my career. I feel it. I know you guys want me to do well, and I want to do that because you guys bet on me. So thank you for keeping betting on me, and I’m going to keep stepping up, and I’m going to keep being the best version of myself I can be,” Jordan said.
Jamie Foxx was among those celebrating the win, writing on Instagram that Jordan deserved two Oscars for the role. “Congratulations, my brother @michaelbjordan. You’re operating in rare air right now,” Foxx wrote. “Celebrate it to the fullest… and trust me, the after-party is going to be crazy.”
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler Make History at 98th Academy Awards | WATCH
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