Actress reacts to Oscars 2017 nominations

The nominees for the 89th and 2017 Academy Awards were announced on Tuesday, January 24, 2017, and six black actors were nominated.

Black films including "Fences," "Hidden Figures" and "Moonlight" also got nominations in categories such as the best picture, feature documentary, and best director.

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Reacting to the nominations, Pinkett Smith in an interview with Variety expressed her excitement.

“I feel really fantastic. It’s a beautiful thing to see,” Smith said. “We had a lot of exceptional films this year. I’m glad to see that projects like "Hidden Figures," "Fences," and "Moonlight" are getting recognition. I’m very proud this morning.”

On the significance of awards and diversity, the actress and producer said, "Because of the state that our country is in, as artists it’s so important we use our platform to help shine light on how we want to be identified as a country.”

“I look at this as a beautiful step towards that. Just our participation as artists in this time of how we want to represent our country, what is the messaging we want the world to see. As, artists we have strong voices. We create strong imagery in regards to the identity of our country. It’s important that we take responsibility for that.”

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"La La Land," a musical comedy tipped to win big at the Oscars next month February scored 14 nominations, becoming one of the most nominated movies in the Academy Awards history.

Other nominees include Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Andrew Garfield, Mel Gibson among others.