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Charlotte Rampling: The #OscarsSoWhite debacle is ‘racist to whites’

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Charlotte Rampling got a “surprise” Oscar nomination for her film 45 Years. I still haven’t seen it, although the reviews for Charlotte in particular are wonderful. Rampling was snubbed for nominations at many awards shows (including the BAFTAs), but the Academy showed her some love… at the same time they were actively snubbing artists of color. So when Charlotte was doing a French radio interview this week, she was asked about the growing controversy of #OscarsSoWhite. And Rampling showed off why she’s so popular with the over-60, overwhelmingly white Academy voters. Oscar nominee Charlotte Rampling has claimed the current campaign to boycott the 2016 Academy Awards over claims of a diversity deficit is racist to white people. Asked for her take on the current furore over all-white lists of nominees on French Radio network Europe 1 on Friday morning, the British actor did not mince her words. “It is racist to whites,” she said. “One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list,” added Rampling. Asked if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should introduce quotas, a proposal which no current advocate of increased diversity has mooted, she responded: “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?” When the interviewer explains that black members of the film industry feel like a minority, Rampling replies: “No comment.” [From The Guardian] We can all shake our heads and roll our eyes, but HAND TO GOD, this is honestly how many Academy voters feel. And I’d just like to point out how sad/hilarious/insensitive it is for an old white Englishwoman to claim that white people are the victims of racism. It would be like Winston Churchill claiming Indians were racist against him. When a group that has historically been the oppressor of other races suddenly claims to be the victim of racism? It’s almost magical. An angel just got his wings. Photos courtesy of WENN.

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Will Smith on #OscarsSoWhite: ‘It feels like it’s going the wrong direction’

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I get that not everyone likes or enjoys Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, but can we agree on something? Like, Will Smith is a major movie star for a reason. He’s incredibly charismatic. I was reminded of that while watching his interview on Good Morning America on Thursday. Will stopped by GMA to discuss his wife’s boycott of the Oscars and the subsequent backlash. And while I defended Jada previously, I have to say that if she wants people on her side, she just needs to send Will out there to speak on her behalf. He has all the charisma in that family. Here’s the video: Some assorted quotes: He wasn’t part of Jada’s video but he supports it: “I was out of the country at the time, and I came home [and said], ‘What happened?’ She’s deeply passionate, and when she’s moved, she has to go. I heard her words, and I was knocked over. I was happy to be married to that woman. I appreciated the push. There’s a position that we hold in this community, and if we’re not a part of the solution, we’re a part of the problem. It was her call to action for herself, for me and for our family to be a part of the solution.” The two times Will has been Oscar nominated, he lost to black men: “That was huge. So when I see this list and series of nominations that come out — everybody is fantastic, and that’s the complexity of this issue. Everyone is beautiful and deserving and is fantastic, but it feels like it’s going the wrong direction. It reflects a series of challenges we’re having in our country at the moment. There’s a regressive slide toward separatism.” The regressive slide: “The nominations reflect the Academy, the Academy reflects the industry… and the industry reflects America. There’s a regressive slide toward separatism, toward racial and religious disharmony.” He says Jada isn’t just mad about Will’s snub: “For Jada, had I been nominated and no other people of color were, she would have made the video anyway. This is so deeply not about me. This is about children that are going to sit down and they’re going to watch this show and they’re not going to see themselves represented.” He won’t attend the Oscars without Jada: “It would be awkward for me to show up with Charlize [Theron]. We’ve discussed it and we’re a part of this community, but at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say that this is OK.” Yeah, I think he’s telling the truth, and I think this is what he really believes. I also think that Jada’s video wasn’t his call, but after days of seeing his wife attacked, Will decided to get out in front and talk about it. While Will hasn’t been a major player in Hollywood for a few years, he’s still well-liked within the industry, in America and in the world (he’s a majorly bankable African-American star internationally). For Will to sit here and call out the Academy – and as he makes clear, the industry – it’s a big deal. Photos courtesy of WENN.