British actress Charlotte Rampling, who is nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her work in 45 Years, has voiced her opinion about the #OscarsSoWhite controversy — and it’s not a positive, supportive one.
Rampling, 69, was a guest on French radio show inrocks.tv Friday morning, and was asked about the current furor involving the lack of diversity at the Academy Awards. She did not mince words.
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“It is racist to whites,” she said. “One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list,” said Rampling.
When asked if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should start using quotas to select nominees, she responded: “Why classify people? These days everyone is more or less accepted. People will always say: ‘Him, he’s less handsome,’ ‘Him, he’s too black,’ ‘He is too white.’ Someone will always be saying ‘You are too…’ But do we have to take from this that there should be lots of minorities everywhere?”
Rampling replied “no comment” to the host’s assertion that black members in the industry feel like a minority.
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The actress’s comments conflict with opinions given by her fellow actors — including Mark Ruffalo and George Clooney — who support the calls for increased diversity.
The nominees for the 2016 Academy Awards were announced on Jan. 14, and immediately after they were revealed, the Internet exploded with anger and vitriol. For the second straight year, there were no nominees of colour in the Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories.
Directors Spike Lee and Michael Moore, along with actors Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, have all announced they’re boycotting the Oscars ceremony due to the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
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