Charlotte Rampling says Oscars diversity row is 'racist to white people'

Actress Charlotte Rampling has said the boycott of the Oscars over the diversity row is "racist to white people".

The Oscar nominee, 69, is up for the best actress gong for her part in British marital drama 45 Years.

The Oscars has been criticised over its failure to nominate a single black actor for the second year running.

Rampling - who has plenty of awards to her name but not yet an Oscar - told French radio network Europe 1: "It is racist to whites".

She added: "One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list."

When asked if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should introduce quotas, she said: "Why classify people? These days everyone is more or less accepted."

When the interviewer explains that black members of the film industry feel like a minority, Rampling replies: “No comment.”

Jada Pinkett Smith, her husband Will Smith and the Oscar-winning director Spike Lee have all boycotted next month's ceremony.

Film director Spike Lee - who was given an honorary Oscar at the Governors Awards in November - said in a post on social media he "cannot support" the "lily white" Oscars.