The 'Into the Woods' actress sparks controversy as she says, 'We're all Africans,' in response to diversity issues in movie industry.
- Feb 12, 2016
AceShowbiz - Amid the #OscarsSoWhite outrage, Meryl Streep landed in hot water with her comments about diversity issues in movie industry. Speaking as the head jury of 2016 Berlin International Film Festival, the actress defended the festival's all-white jury panel as she said, "At least women are included."
"In fact, we (women) dominate this jury. That's an unusual situation in bodies of people that make decisions," the 66-year-old actress continued. "So I think the Berlinale is ahead of the game."
"I've played a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures," Streep said when asked if she understood films from the Arab world and North Africa. "There is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture, and after all we're all from Africa originally. We're all Africans, we're all Berliners."
As Meryl Streep is facing backlash, a Berlinale representative defends the actress in a statement to Variety, "We don't consider Meryl Streep's comments to be in any way insensitive. As she made it clear throughout the press conference, she is committed to inclusiveness of all ethnicities, religions and genders. She underlined that we are all the same, all equal."