Charlotte Rampling has claimed her controversial comments suggesting the Oscars boycott was “racist to whites” may have been misinterpreted after a fierce backlash.
Rampling, who is nominated in the Best Actress category for her role in 45 Years, suggested black actors may not have deserved to make the shortlist during an interview on Friday.
Speaking in fluent French, she told French radio network Europe 1: “Why classify people? These days everyone is more or less accepted ... People will always say: ‘Him, he’s less handsome’; ‘Him, he’s too black’; ‘He is too white’ ... someone will always be saying ‘You are too’ [this or that] ... But do we have to take from this that there should be lots of minorities everywhere?”
Rampling was responding to a question about whether quotas should be introduced after Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs outlined changes to be made in the future to diversify the Oscars board.
Her remarks were widely condemned, with Chelsea Clinton denouncing them as “outrageous, ignorant and offensive”.
The 69-year-old attempted to clarify her stance in a statement to CBS News on Saturday.
“I regret that my comments could have been misinterpreted this week in my interview with Europe 1 Radio. I simply meant to say that in an ideal world every performance will be given equal opportunities for consideration,“ her statement said.
”I am very honoured to be included in this year's wonderful group of nominated actors and actresses.”
Calls for a boycott have been led by the actress Jada Pinkett Smith after it was announced that all 20 nominees were white for the second year in a row. The Magic Mike XXL actress criticised organisers for inviting black and ethnic minority actors to hand out awards and perform at ceremonies while not recognising their achievements.
Spike Lee’s subsequent announcement that he would not be attending was followed by a second video from Pinkett Smith confirming her decision to boycott the awards. Her husband Will Smith will also join her in shunning the ceremony. He told Good Morning America: ”At this current time, we're uncomfortable to stand there and say this is OK.“
