Charlotte Rampling says her Oscars ‘racist to whites’ comments were ‘misinterpreted’

Rampling released a statement to clarify her “racist to whites” comment on the Oscar boycott.

English actress Charlotte Rampling, who earned a Best Actress nomination for this year’s Academy Awards for her role in 45 Years, has also joined in the #OscarsSoWhite conversation.

Hours after actress Charlotte Rampling told an interviewer that the blowback against this year’s all-white acting nominees was itself “racist”, she is walking back her comments. She said she wished every performance were given equal opportunity for consideration.

The move follows an outcry in recent days over the lack of black actors in this year’s nominations which, for the second year in a row, sees all 20 nomination categories dominated by white performers.

The Academy approved a series of “substantive changes” to its rules and organizational structure in an effort to ensure the diversity of its membership amid mounting criticism on Friday.

In a world where Jennifer Lawrence was nominated for Joy, I think we have to take a step back and realize that “deserving” doesn’t seem to come into play much here, even for the Academy’s mayo faves. “But do we have to take from this that there should be lots of minorities everywhere?”

“Be patient… of course, it will come”.

On Thursday Will Smith announced that he will not be attending the awards next month, joining his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and others in protest against two straight years of all-white acting nominees. Charles Thompson, CEO of the Screen Nation Awards, said the comments were “clumsy” at best, adding: “We now need to move the issue from just being talked about to recognising the need for real adjustment in the industry”.

Oscar winners Lupita Nyong’o, George Clooney, Reese Witherspoon and Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs have also voiced their disappointment.

Oh, so that’s what “someone will always be saying “You are too” [this or that] …”

“I don’t know whether Idris got [nominated]”, he said.

Chelsea Clinton – daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton – tweeted: “Outrageous, ignorant & offensive comments from Rampling”. “These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact”.

Speaking at a screening of his new movie Miles Ahead at Sundance Film Festival, he said the problem went beyond the Academy and was a broader issue in the film industry.