In the heat of this year’s Oscars race, the #OscarsSoWhite controversy blew up. For the second year in a row, there were no major nominations for minority actors. The controversy got so bad that the Academy is still undergoing renovations to the voter rolls and trying to bring in some fresh blood and hopefully more diverse membership. The controversy also got so bad that various (white) actors had to answer questions about the all-white party known as the Oscars. One of those actors? Charlotte Rampling. Rampling was asked point-blank about the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and she said:
“It is racist to whites. 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?”
Within hours, Rampling’s publicist made her issue an apology in which Rampling claimed that her comments had been “misinterpreted” and that she of course believes that “in an ideal world every performance will be given equal opportunities for consideration.” While her clarification left me cold (it was basically “sorry you read the words I actually spoke”), Rampling really didn’t suffer because of it. She didn’t have to answer any other questions about race and her belief that minorities were being racist to white people. Well now, months later, Rampling is talking about it again.
Charlotte Rampling has defended her controversial Oscars race row comments insisting her words were simply misunderstood.
“I probably think it was misinterpreted at the time. I thought, ‘Oh my god, what have I said’. It was in no way what people thought,” says the 70-year-old, who was nominated for best actress at the 2016 Academy Awards for her performance in British drama 45 Hours. “After I just didn’t listen to anything so I don’t know who said what about it. I can’t really say too much now. I could have easily had a dialogue but I wasn’t going to do that after what I said. I’m anything but racist.”
“I could have easily had a dialogue but I wasn’t going to do that after what I said. I’m anything but racist.” I have literally no idea what she’s trying to say there. Is she saying that of course she isn’t racist and she could have totally had a dialogue about what she said but she knew everyone would just say that she’s racist and she’s totally not racist, you guys. We know she’s not racist because she says so! And it’s like she wants bonus points because she COULD have had a dialogue about race but she didn’t. I would have been fascinated to hear that dialogue.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
OK girl. I guess.
who is she again
A great actress.
i haven’t seen her in anything so nor have heard of her before this whole oscars thing
Agreed. Fantastic actor.
She’s an acclaimed English actress who does movies in Europe (and clearly a racist)
Omg really? Simple-minded much?
Swimming pool! Highly recommended. Smart movie but not dark or depressing.
Man, it is so hard to hear this lady when her head is so far up in the clouds like that.
Yeah Charlotte, everyday white people are just walking into jobs and walking out their head held down, their shoulders in a defeated pose, home to sadly tell their wives, “Honey, I don’t know how it happened…but somewhere along the way I just became TOO white.”
Eye roll to yet another clueless and comfortable.
Lol crying right now 🙌🏼
And the wife buries her head in her hands and sobs, “not THAT again!!”
“We can’t let our kids grow up this way honey! I want better for them than this! I’m going to run to the store for a bottle of self-tanner and you have an affair with a black man!”
Thanks for the chuckles ESE and GNAT.
oh no, I understand. You are an old woman who say stupid stuff but racist? I think not.
She’s not racist but she dismissed the criticism over her offensive quote and wasn’t willing to open up a discussion on why it was so offensive? Riiiiight Charlotte.
I thought when I read the headline that I’d keep an open mind and see what she had to say. Everybody says thing from time to time that come out wrong or differently than they intended. But I read what she said again, and I just can’t see how it’s anything BUT racist. It’s racist to whites? “Why do we have to have minorities everywhere?” Wha…how is that not a horrible thing to say? If I’m misinterpreting, please tell me how.
I *think* she means that she is not prejudiced personally. And you know what? She probably isn’t. But that isn’t the point, is it?
If you belong to the preferred, dominant group and you refuse to acknowledge systemic racism because it might challenge your own preferred position, then you are a racist. Simple as.
She will never see this because it will hurt her self image to see it. Pisses me off no end. Like Hiddlesburp et al piss me off when they pretend they are where they because they’re so amazing and their class privileged background is a hindrance rather than a blessing.
Completely agree.
Her comments are typical of a lot of liberal white people I know, unfortunately. They hold subtle racist beliefs, nothing of the redneck sort, and believe themselves truthful not racist.
Let the church say AMEN!
Yep, in my social psychology class, we discussed a study that found that white people avoid uncomfortable introspection about their prejudices by comparing themselves to the most extreme examples of racism, then concluding that they OBVIOUSLY aren’t racist.
That’s a good point. When people hear the term racist, it’s probably some of the worst examples of racism (violence, slavery, segregation, slurs, hate groups) that pop up in their minds and they probably think, “I would never support things like that. How could anyone say that something I’m saying or doing is racist?”
That is a brilliant point that explains so much the attitude of many white people when asked to acknowledge their privilege.
“I’m anything but racist.” Very few racists actually understand that they’re racists.
THIS. There are so many different types of racism/ways to be racist that (mainly white) people don’t realize ARE racist.
So, so true. I had a discussion with my cousin, who is all “black people are racist, too,” and “I love black people when they act nice, I just don’t like all the ones that are terrible,” and she says every other sentence that she’s not racist. She’s so racist. She’s voting for Trump. She loves the idea of The Wall. She thinks that anything different from her little white prissy self is wrong. Oh, and she’s not homophobic, but gays just shouldn’t get to tell everybody they’re gay cause it’s gross. Blerg…
Funny thing about trump supporters. If he wins the wall won’t be built, Muslims won’t be banned. There is no way for him to do those things. He hasn’t even mentioned the Muslims already here. There’s no way to get “all the jobs back from China” even if trump had 8 years. So his main things are moot. And what is bad about Hillary or Bernie? What will happen that is bad if Hillary is elected? I just don’t see any concrete reason to vote for trump ( even if you’re racist). He has no concrete platform
I think the main issue is that outside of the US the discussion of race is very different, and so for European actors to be asked questions about race, they usually end up answering really awkwardly and insensitively.
Doesn’t mean that there isn’t a problem with minorities in European countries, but the way people talk about it is very different. It’s hard to explain.
Anyway, the problem isn’t that minority actors aren’t getting nominated… it’s that they aren’t being cast at all.
I can’t agree, Val. Racism comes in different flavours, yes, but it’s alive and well in Europe and preserved by exactly the same social systems. Rampling’s response accurately mirrors the narcissistic panic of any dominant group when it’s suggested they might have to relinquish some privilege. Blame the oppressed.
In my part of Europe, xenophibia is what is more prevalent, rather than racism, becase people who are not white are very rare. And while instances of racism surely do happen, as they happen everywhere, they are horrible, but they are direct. The kind of subtle institutional racism that happens in the US simply doesn’t happen here.
Also, the way race is viewed in the US is different too. For an example, people from the Middle East would technically be considered white here.
So I do think that there are differences.
I’m not saying that there isn’t racism in Europe, there certainly is; but like Locke Lamora and anna (below) said, the discussion tends more towards xenophobia on the one hand, but also the fact that “race” isn’t viewed in the same way as in the US.
People are more likely to be labeled by their ethnicity/country of origin, and there’s a whole essay there about race relations and immigration and US history, that is not mirrored in Europe.
I don’t think Rampling is racist, I think she’s clueless in the same way that #AllLivesMatter people are – people who don’t understand the concept of privilege and don’t realise it because they’re never confronted with minority issues.
i do agree. the debate about race in the united states is different than in europe. and we need to be a little bit more careful about labelling everyone and their mothers a racist. you think that will start a conversation and bring people together to outright dismiss everybody who doesn’t have a ph.d. in “how to talk about minority representation”?
Why did she feel the need to revisit this? Move on instead of digging a deeper hole.
Yep.
Sure, Jan.
Maybe it’s because after 50 years of screen credits, she is supposed to feel guilty about finally receiving her first nomination..nothing she said would appease anyone.
The only point I could understand is that actors should be nominated base on their talent. Not under the social need to be PC and place x-black actor, actress, director, etc because of their race and social status.
All said in fair in the love of war. But let’s be honest here, Hollywood and this film awards do not celebrate the art of film but categorized the monetary value these films produce. The Oscars has turn into a popularity contest and has its own secret hidden agenda. The Oscars is such a joke. I can understand why black actors and film makers will fight to be regonize during Oscar season. But honestly I good film and an excellent actor doesn’t need some trophy to make impact in this industry. It’s garbage at this point to give the Oscars so much credit. When clearly the system is broken.
I saw her in something recently and she was so good. She really is such a great actress. The closeups of her were amazing, a beautiful face but a lived-in face. That’s all I’ve got.
Yep. She’s an amazing actress. I always thought of her as a pretty liberal actress throughout the years so it was a surprise to read her comments about racism in Hollywood. I’m hoping she just didn’t express herself very well because it would be a major let down to find out she’s ignorant about how minorities are treated in Hollywood and elsewhere.
That’s what they aaaaaall say, hun.
I think you make a good point. I’m not sure about the last one, because I think that even poor, urban white people still get the benefit of some kinds of white privilege, but I do see your point.
Please. So I guess that those poor, white neighbors that I had growing up in section 8 housing that would run by, throw rocks and call me and my siblings chinks and make squinty eyes at me aren’t really racist, oh excuse me, prejudiced as they didn’t live in suburbia. Good to know.
Oh yeah, and they were probably just overlooked too right? Damn, guess me and my chink family should have lived somewhere else instead. Don’t want to bother the poor, uneducated, overlooked, discriminating white folks with our yellow skin and foreign ways.
I’m sorry that happened to you. It must have been so confusing to a child. I wish I could hug that little girl and tell her how beautiful she is.
Eveil may I respectfully ask a question? Do you know what happened to those people? Did you move out of section 8 before them? (If you ever lived there) I have a hypothesis that a poor Chinese (maybe any Asian) child in the USA (raised by Chinese parents) will do MUCH better in life (education, income) than a white or black child with equal income in childhood. Any thoughts?
I don’t think she’s racist, I just think she’s deeply ignorant and clueless about this topic. The way she dismissed it and refused to get into that dialogue proves it.
I never piled on her….she’s fab, and I do think it was overblown. I would’ve rather seen her win than Brie Larson. Where is Brie now? Charlotte is a legend.
Rampling is trying to say that her choice of words back then was rather “interpret-able” and unfortunately the racist interpretation got through.
I can understand that as a nominee it probably felt like an attack that she shouldnt be there. But there is more eloquent way of saying that you think all the nominees chosen were deserving or whatever. I think her problem was saying it was “racist” to white people.
Are humans nothing more than cogs stuck on a polarized track between labels of “racist” and “not racist”? Based on the comments here, this seems to be people’s world view. I hope you will all travel someday, immerse yourself in places and surround yourself with people far different than those you knew growing up. Just try to break patterns
Great idea.
And I agree with the people who say that calling someone a racist or other strong pejorative is NOT the way to get them to open up and discussions things in a nuanced way. Or to get them to change their minds on anything at all. How would any of you react if you were called some insulting name? Would you bother to listen any further to what the other person was saying? I wouldn’t.
Well said!
To answer your q, I would try to listen to such a person but i wouldn’t be expecting much
She’s an unbelievable actress (I think purely on performance she should’ve won this year- I really like Brie Larson but Rampling tore my heart out in 45 Years) but she should probably just stop talking.
She is really a great actress and I remember well she was not a bigot. But she was very shallow and ignorant about the #Oscarsowhite thing