Oscar row: Rampling weighs in

Rampling, who was nominated for best actress for her performance in “45 Years”, says the charge is unfair to the white actors nominated. Rampling (69) told France’s Europe 1 radio yesterday that, while it’s impossible to know for sure, “maybe the black actors didn’t deserve to be in the final stretch”.

When asked in the Europe 1 interview whether the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should introduce quotas, she said: “Why categorise people?”. These days everyone is more or less accepted…

“So basically are we saying we are going to put everyone and everything into one class or another to create lots of minority groups everywhere?”

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. “I am highly encouraged by the changes announced today by the Academy to diversify its membership”, her statement read. In a statement to CBS News on Friday night, she claimed that her comments had been “misinterpreted”. “It took me years to get an Oscar”. “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”.

Chelsea Clinton, the daughter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, also voiced her displeasure at Rampling’s comment in a tweet.

The Academy committed to doubling the number of women and minorities among its 6,300 members, who are now 90 per cent white and 70 per cent male with an average age in the sixties. Fans, stars and the media have weighed in, calling on the Academy, and the film industry in general, to work on diversity.

Perhaps less helpfully, actors Charlotte Rampling, who is nominated for an acting award this year, and Michael Caine, pushed back against the protest, implying that the campaign itself was racist. I saw Idris Elba (in ‘Beasts Of No Nation’). But members will have lifetime voting rights after three 10-year terms, as will those who have won or been nominated for an Academy Award.

Other actors such as George Clooney and Lupita Nyong’o echoed their criticism while Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs promised reform.

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