Rampling: Black stars’ Oscar fury ‘racist to whites’
CHARLOTTE Rampling has accused those complaining about a shortage of black nominees at this year’s Oscars of ‘ antiwhite racism’.
The 69-year- old, who is up for the Best Actress award, said that people should not be ‘classified’ – adding that nominations should be based on the performance.
Responding to stars who have threatened to boycott the ceremony next month, she told a radio station yesterday: ‘One can never really know but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list.’
Miss Rampling’s remarks follow a week of debate about nominations for the Academy Awards, after it was revealed that no black actors were shortlisted for the second year running.
There have been calls for a boycott, with Jada Pinkett Smith – wife of Hollywood actor Will Smith – writing on Facebook that: ‘We must stand in our power.
‘Begging for acknowledgement or even asking [to be nominated] diminishes dignity. It diminishes power and we are a dignified people.’
Others have demanded that the Academy bring in quotas – however this was met with criticism from Miss Rampling.
Speaking to French radio station Europe 1 yesterday, the British star said: ‘Why classify people? We live in countries where everyone is more or less accepted. There are always issues like “he is less good looking” or “he is too black”.
‘There is always someone who says “you are too...”. So are we going to say that we will categorise all that to make lots of minorities everywhere?’
She said that she did not think racism played into the nomination process and that the lack of black stars up for awards could be because they have not earned them.
She added: ‘[The complaints are] antiwhite racism. Maybe the black actors don’t deserve to be on the final stretch?’
Fellow acting veteran Sir Michael Caine also weighed into the debate yesterday. He told the Today programme: ‘You can’t vote f or an actor because he’s black – and you can’t just say “I’m going to vote for him, he’s not very good, but he’s black, I’ll vote for him”. You have got to give a good performance.’
Their arguments echo those made by the Daily Mail’s Baz Bamigboye earlier this week. Writing in Thursday’s paper, he said: ‘I share some of their angst [about the lack of black stars shortlisted], but I don’t feel heartbroken about this year’s nominations.
‘The simple fact is that the Oscars must celebrate and honour the best. And, I’m afraid, in my view, the movies this year with black actors and black film-makers aren’t of that high quality.’
Several high-profile films starring black actors have been released in the past year, including Creed, Straight Outta Compton and Beasts Of No Nation – which had British actor Idris Elba in the lead. None of the black stars have received Academy Award nominations.
Hollywood director Spike Lee has been leading criticism of the shortlist, but claimed that the ‘real battle’ against racism is taking place in the ‘executive offices of the studios and TV networks’.
The 58-year-old – who directed 1992 film Malcolm X – wrote on social media: ‘This is where the gatekeepers decide what gets made and what gets jettisoned to the scrap heap.’
In 2014, black talent was recognised for the film 12 Years A Slave, which won Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars as well as securing a Best Supporting Actress gong for Lupita Nyong’o.
Miss Rampling, who appeared in TV series Broadchurch, has received an Oscars nod for her role in British drama 45 Years. She is up against Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Jennifer Lawrence and Saoirse Ronan.
Yet with the Academy’s almost 6,000 members still to vote on winners, there are concerns that her controversial comments may scupper her chances of victory.
Oh, do stop whingeing about the Oscars being too white From Thursday’s Mail