Charlotte Rampling Calls Oscars Boycott “Racist To White People”

Oscar nominee and legendary actress Charlotte Rampling has spoken out on the campaign to boycott the awards ceremony for its lack of diversity, calling the criticism “racist to white people”.

“One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list”, she said. “There is always someone who says ‘You are too…’ So are we going to say, ‘We will categorise all that to make lots of minorities everywhere?'”

When asked if the Academy should introduce quotas, she said “Why classify people? In the coming days and weeks we will conduct a review of our membership recruitment in order to bring about much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond”.

“People will always say, ‘Him, he’s not as handsome, ‘ or ‘Him, he’s too black, ‘ or ‘He’s too white, ‘” she said.

The British actress, who is nominated for her role in 45 Years, was speaking to a French radio station as more names add their voice to this year’s boycott.

This series of culturally illiterate statements has naturally got the public on edge, worrying about what clueless comment will emerge from which white actor’s mouth next. Asked about the controversy on France’s Europe 1 radio, she bluntly said that “it is racist to whites”.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, an African American woman, responded to the controversy over the nominations on Monday night. The conversation has been tough, and sometimes hyperbolic, and in a country where race is still a very sensitive issue, where #blacklivesmatter remains a potent and important movement, these feelings are being worked out in a public discourse, for better or worse.

“As many of you know, we have implemented changes to diversify our membership in the last four years”, she continued, admitting change couldn’t come fast enough.

So far, the number of stars who share Charlotte Rampling’s views on the Oscars is rather small.

“Perhaps the black actors did not deserve to be in the final straight”, she said.

Twitter is already having a field day with Charlotte Rampling’s comments.

Meanwhile, the number of celebrities who agree with Jada Pinkett Smith’s diagnosis of the Academy’s diversity problem continues to grow.