Rampling claims Oscar boycott is racist against white actors
Actress angers diversity campaigners by suggesting that black stars may not have deserved nomination
CHARLOTTE RAMPLING, the actress, has suggested the Oscars are “racist” against white people, following complaints over the lack of black actors represented this year.
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. When asked about a high-profile campaign to boycott the event, after all 20 of the leading actor categories were filled by white stars, for the second year running, she suggested that black actors who missed out were not victims of discrimination but “perhaps did not merit being on the finishing line”.
Her comments caused fury on social media, with diversity campaigners calling them ill-thought-out and “silly”.
It follows a week of global debate about this year’s Oscars, with stars including George Clooney, Mark Ruffalo, Lupita Nyong’o, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith speaking out about the lack of black actors represented. David Oyelowo, the British star of
Selma, a biopic of Martin Luther King said: “For 20 opportunities to celebrate actors of colour, actresses of colour, to be missed last year is one thing; for that to happen again this year is unforgivable.”
The Academy Awards last night pledged to double the number of female and minority members by 2020, and said it would immediately diversify its leadership by adding three new seats to its board of governors.
Yesterday, in an interview on French radio about her nomination, Rampling appeared to claim that the Oscars were in fact discriminating against white actors. When asked if she understood the frustration of black actors, and calls for stars to boycott this year’s ceremony, Rampling said: “No. I find that it is the other way around… racist, racist towards whites.”
When the interviewer asked “Really?” she added: “Yes, because you can never know if it’s really the case, but sometimes, perhaps, black actors did not merit being on the finishing line.”
“Why classify people?” Rampling continued. “There are always questions about whether such and such a person is less handsome, such is and such is too black, such and such is too blond.
“There will always be someone who is told ‘you are too something’.
“And then what do we do, are we going to classify thousands of little minorities everywhere?”
The comments caused fury on social media, with one critic saying they
‘You can never know if it’s the case, but perhaps black actors did not merit being on the finishing line’
“exemplified the deep and dangerous ignorance of unexamined white privilege”.
Diversity campaigners were more measured, calling not for Rampling to be pilloried but for the film industry to use the debate to make meaningful changes to permit black and ethnic minority actors more chances to succeed.
Stephanie Street, founder member and trustee of the Act For Change campaign, said Rampling’s comments were “unfortunate and ungenerous” in undermining others, but pointed out Rampling too would have faced discrimination as an older woman.
Akua Gyamfi, founder of The British Blacklist, which promotes the work of ethnic minority actors, said “there is no racism against white people in this situation”.
Charles Thompson, CEO of the Screen Nation Awards, described Rampling’s comments as “clumsy”.