Meryl Streep may be loved by Hollywood, the Academy and fans, but she isn’t making any friends in the Black community.
The Oscar-winning actress is facing a major backlash after she told reporters, “we are all Africans.” However, she wasn’t talking about diversity, like many news outlets are reporting.
So what happened? Well, it all started when Streep, who is the head of the Berlinale Film Festival jury this year, was asked by reporters how she felt about the fact that the seven-member panel of judges is all white.
Considering the recent outrage around #OscarsSoWhite and the lack of diversity in general, it seemed like a pretty fair question.
Streep responded by saying she is committed to eqaulity and inclusion “of all geneders, races, ethnicities, religions.”
She then went on to point out the makeup of the jury is, in fact, somewhat diverse – at least when it came to gender lines: “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. “So I think the Berlinale is ahead of the game.”
But, when she was asked about her knowledge of African movies, Streep reportedly said, “The thing I’ve noticed from my (different) roles is there is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture. And, after all, we’re all from Africa, originally. We’re all Berliners. We’re all Africans, really.”
However, Twitter is bashing the Academy Award winning actress:
So Meryl Streep: “We’re all africans” “I’m not a feminist because I love men”
WHO DROPPED MERYL STREEP ON HER HEAD
— Ethel (@Ethelmonster) February 11, 2016
looking forward to that new Kanye/Meryl Streep mixtape “New Africans”.
— John Brown II (@MIFootballer) February 11, 2016
things Meryl Streep should do: pic.twitter.com/aNhNm2ZXoV
— John Brown II (@MIFootballer) February 11, 2016
This is not the first time in recent months that Streep has found herself in hot water over her statements regarding race. Last year, she was bashed by the African American community for a marketing campaign she launched for her movie, Suffragette. In the movie, Meryl Streep plays a British political activist Emmeline Pankhurst, who fought to get women the right to vote in the late 1800s. To promote the movie, Meryl Streep and co-stars posed with T-Shirts that read “I’d Rather Be a Rebel Than a Slave.”
I’D Rather Be A Rebel Than A Slave.#Klotho #Pakistan #Lahore #Karachi #Islamabad #Sialkot #Best #Quality #BNU #kin… pic.twitter.com/nZOvMzTvrk
— Image Pakistan (@ImageOfPakistan) February 10, 2016
The quote hanged a lot of people, particularly African Americans who feel the quote reflects white privilege.
