Charlotte Rampling: Promoting Diversity In Oscar Nominations Is 'Racist To Whites'

"Perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list," the nominee said.

Academy Award nominee Charlotte Rampling does not buy into the notion that the Oscars are racist. In fact, she thinks the conversation surrounding a lack of diversity in the nominations is actually anti-white.

“It is racist to whites,” she said on France's Europe 1 radio station Friday.

“One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list," added Rampling, who was nominated in the best actress category for her role in "45 Years."

She disagreed with the proposal that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences use quotas to encourage diversity.

“Why classify people? These days everyone is more or less accepted," she said. "People will always say ‘Him, he’s not as handsome’ or ‘Him, he’s too black’ or ‘He's too white.' But does that necessarily mean there should be lots of minorities everywhere?”

"What does it mean that [black actors] still think they are a minority?" she continued.

Zero actors of color are included in the Academy's best actor or actress categories for the second consecutive year, despite the fact that there were many non-white actors who could have been chosen. Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith and Spike Lee all announced they would not be attending this year's awards ceremony in an act of protest.

Oscar-winning producer Gerald Molen, who later was involved with a documentary from conservative activist Dinesh D'Souza, also addressed the diversity controversy.

"The idea of a boycott is ridiculous," the producer of "Schindler's List" and "Jurassic Park" told The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. "Are their noses bent out of shape by the award nominations? Of course. That is normal in a town of egos and red carpet desires. While there were many performances of note, not all my choices for 'best' in the various categories have been realized."

Molen noted that his vote for best picture went to Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies."

This post has been updated to include Gerald Molen's comments.

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