Actor Will Smith has confirmed he will boycott the 2016 Oscars following allegations the Academy has snubbed black actors.

For the second year in a row, the 20 acting nominations went to an all-white group, sparking outrage and the hashtag, #OscarsSoWhite.

In an interview with ABC US on Friday (AEDT), Smith said: “I think that I have to protect and fight for the ideals that make our country and our Hollywood community great.”

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The actor did note, however, that both times he was nominated for an Oscar he lost to black men.

Film maker Spike Lee says the snubs are a sign of a greater problem. Photo: Getty

Smith’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett-Smith was one of the first celebrities to speak out on the issue, posting on Twitter: “At the Oscars, people of colour are always welcomed to give out awards, even entertain, but we are rarely recognised for our artistic accomplishments”.

Director Spike Lee said he and his wife would attend a basketball game instead of the ceremony, but qualified that he had never used the word “boycott”.

In an interview with USA Today, Lee said although his 1989 film Do the Right Thing lost the best picture award to Driving Miss Daisy, his work had stood the test of time.

“No one is watching Driving Miss Daisy now. So it also shows you that the work is what’s important because that’s what’s going to stand for years, not an award,” he said.

Best supporting actor nominee Mark Ruffalo, who is white, also indicated on Thursday he was considering boycotting the ceremony in protest.

Yet later on Twitter, Ruffalo confirmed he would be attending the ceremony “in support of the victims of clergy sexual abuse and good journalism”.

Ruffalo is nominated for his role as one of the Boston Globe journalists who uncovered rife sexual abuse in the Catholic Church.

Two-time Oscar winner George Clooney also spoke out against the perceived racism this week in an interview with Variety, in which he said America had been moving in the wrong direction on diversity.

The Oscars will be held on February 28.