“I regret that my comments could have been misinterpreted this week in my interview with Europe 1 Radio”.
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The controversy has gotten to the Motion Picture Academy which has announced sweeping changes aimed at diversifying the cast of Oscar voters who now are predominately white and male.
Rampling, who received her first Oscar nomination this year at the age of 69, said she did not understand campaigners and stars who have lamented the lack of diversity from the Academy’s nominations.
Rampling told French radio station Europe 1 that a growing boycott the 88th Academy Awards is actually “racist to whites”. I thought he was wonderful’.
Thanks for that sparkling social commentary, Charlotte Rampling.
Charlotte Rampling accepts the silver bear for best actress for “45 Years” on stage during the Closing Ceremony of the 65th Berlinale International Film Festival at Berlinale Palace on February 14, 2015 in Berlin, Germany.
She also disagreed with the idea of introducing quotas to awards shows, saying, “Why classify people?”.
Reese Witherspoon posted a message of support to the campaign for Oscars diversity, writing: ‘I really appreciated this article in TIME on the lack of racial and gender diversity in this year’s Oscar nominations. In addition, members will receive lifetime voting rights after three ten-year terms; or if they have won or been nominated for an Academy Award.
The British actor didn’t hold back when asked to weigh in on the ongoing debate about a call for diversity in Hollywood after no people of color were nominated for Oscars in acting categories for the second year in a row.
Her most controversial film roles include Lucino Visconti’s The Damned, where she played a young wife sent to a Nazi concentration camp.
Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs said: “The Academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up”.
“It runs through Hollywood and it’s a bigger problem than the Oscars themselves and a bigger issue than just the Academy’s membership”. “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?”
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The actress echoed former Oscar victor Sir Michael Caine, who told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Friday: “You can’t vote for an actor because he’s black”.
