British star pushes back against Oscar racism charge [Updated]

I’ve been a fan of Charlotte Rampling ever since I saw “Georgie Girl” nearly 50 years ago. So I was delighted to see that she is criticizing claims that this year’s Oscar nominations are unfair to African-Americans.

Rampling, who was nominated for best actress for her performance in “45 Years,” says the charge is unfair to the white actors nominated. Indeed, the charge is “racist to whites,” in her opinion. “Why classify people,” she asks, with a reasonableness that already is generating a backlash in Hollywood and the media.

Rampling adds: “One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list.”

She’s right, one can never really know. But we do know this: for the left-wing race-mongering crowd, “deserves” has got nothing to do with it.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph, which may be biased towards the Brit, argues that Rampling should win the Oscar because she isn’t “blonde and under 35.”

[I]f Rampling wins she might set a precedent in which actresses and other female professionals are recognised and rewarded for their work, instead of being judged and promoted for meeting a narrow and youth focused beauty standard.

Perhaps it would, but that’s not a good reason for her to win, and I infer from Rampling’s statement about classifying people that she agrees with awarding Oscars based on merit, not identity politics.

JOHN adds: It didn’t take long for Rampling to be punished for her badthink. Chelsea Clinton, police woman of the Left, jumped in to condemn her on Twitter:

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Rampling scurried for cover, issuing a statement last night to the effect that her comments had been misinterpreted:

She released a statement to CBS Sunday Morning soon after, saying; ‘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. I am very honored to be included in this year’s wonderful group of nominated actors and actresses.’

Sounds like it was written by a studio publicist. In any event, Hollywood didn’t wait around to gauge public reaction. The Academy announced new rules intended to “diversify” nominees:

The new comments came as the Academy rushed to announce new rules to counter the criticism. They pledged to double the number of female and minority members by 2020, and will immediately diversify its leadership by adding three new seats to its board of governors.

Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs announced the changes on Friday.

‘The Academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up,’ she said in a statement.

Other changes include limiting members’ voting status to a period of 10 years, to be extended only if the individual remains active in film during that decade. …

The organization also plans to diversify its leadership beyond the board of governors by adding new members to key decision-making committees, and further diversify its membership with a global campaign to identify and recruit diverse talent.

I haven’t watched an Academy Awards show in decades, and I can’t remember the last time I saw an Oscar-winning movie. So these changes couldn’t be much more irrelevant to me.

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