Charlotte Rampling Clarifies Comments On Oscars’ Diversity Row

Oscar-nominated acting legend Charlotte Rampling made quite a few people angry on Friday when she declared that all of the controversy surrounding the extreme whiteness of this year’s Academy Awards was “racist” towards white people. She said she wished every performance were given equal opportunity for consideration.

Rampling, who is revered in France and has starred in both French and English films, is nominated for best actress at this year’s Oscars for her role in 45 Years, a movie that depicts a couple whose long marriage begins to shatter after a life-changing event. “We live now in countries where anyway people are more or less accepted”, she said. “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”. “There are always questions about whether such-and-such a person is less handsome, such-and-such is too black, such-and-such is too blonde”. So we’ll say ” we will classify all that to do lots of minorities everywhere “?

Since Charlotte initially commented, the Academy announced pending reforms to address membership diversification.

When asked about the Oscars’ diversity debate by French radio station Europe 1 earlier this week, Rampling was quoted as saying, “It is racist to whites”.

“You got to give a good performance, and I’m sure there were very good (performances)”.

Ava DuVernay, director of last year’s Oscar-nominated civil rights drama Selma, tweeted that the changes were “one good step in a long, complicated journey for people of color + women artists”. “Forty white actors in two years and no flava at all. This is my first year voting and I think it’s important for the Academy to come closer to reflecting what the real population looks like”.

Actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith will boycott the ceremony alongside director Spike Lee.

Michael Caine spoke to a BBC radio program and advised black actors to “be patient”. I saw Idris Elba [in Beasts Of No Nation] …

The 88th Academy Awards are set to take place on 28 February in Los Angeles.

At the same time, the Academy will supplement the traditional process in which current members sponsor new members by launching an ambitious, global campaign to identify and recruit qualified new members who represent greater diversity.