Harry Belafonte Calls Out Beyonce, Jay-Z for Shirking "Social Responsibility"

Actor and political activist Harry Belafonte isn't happy with the image of minorities in the entertainment industry, and tells The Hollywood Reporter that he counts Beyonce and Jay-Z as part of the problem.  That's despite the celeb couple's philanthropic work, which between them includes Jay's work to raise money for the United Way of New York City and Beyonce's upcoming World Humanitarian Day campaign.

"I think one of the great abuses of this modern time is that we should have had such high-profile artists, powerful celebrities," Belafonte says.  "But they have turned their back on social responsibility.  That goes for Jay-Z and Beyonce, for example."

Belafonte was in Locarno, Switzerland, where he was being honored at the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.  He introduced the film Carmen Jones, the 1954 classic that he credits for putting him on the map.  The movie, also starring Dorothy Dandridge and Pearl Bailey, made history, in part because of its all-black cast.

Asked about today's non-white entertainers, Harry says, "They have not told the history of our people, nothing of who we are. We are still looking. We are not determinated. ... It is sad."