printMeryl Creep offered a whimsical, wacky defense of her prerogative to belong to a group in which her own kind is “over-represented,” a defense the actress would never afford to other, less privileged lily white Americans:
Actress Meryl Streep is indisputably a Hollywood icon, but her recent remarks regarding the lack of racial diversity on the Berlin International Film Festival jury are unlikely to win her many new admirers. The three-time Oscar-winning actress defended the all-white panel on Thursday, allegedly telling reporters: “We are all Africans.”
The seven-member jury, on which Streep is serving, determines the winners of the prestigious Golden Bear and is one of the most celebrated of Europe’s film festivals. In the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, where the Academy Awards failed to nominate a single actor of color for the second year in a row, Streep was questioned by an Egyptian reporter about the racial make-up of her panel.
“This jury is evidence that at least women are included and in fact dominate this jury, and that’s an unusual situation in bodies of people who make decisions,” Streep said, according to the Associated Press. “So I think the Berlinale is ahead of the game.” The festival jury does include three women in addition to Streep: French photographer Brigitte Lacombe, Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher and Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska.
Let the Hollywood house divided devour itself. Or, “Encourage Affirmative OSCARS, So Hollywood Can Go Belly-Up.”