Charlotte Rampling has claimed that the campaign to boycott the 2016 Oscars over its lack of recognition for minority actors and film-makers is "racist to whites".
So far, Will Smith, Spike Lee, Jada Pinkett Smith and Michael Moore have announced that they're avoiding the Academy Awards on February 28 in protest, after not one minority-background actor was named in last week's nominations for the second year running.
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However, Rampling - nominated for Best Actress for 45 Years - told French Radio network Europe 1 on Friday morning: "One can never really know, but perhaps the black actors did not deserve to make the final list."
Asked if the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences should introduce quotas, Rampling continued: "Why classify people? These days, everyone is more or less accepted.
"People will always say, 'Him, he's less handsome'; 'Him, he's too black'; 'He is too white'. Someone will always be saying, 'You are too [this or that]'... But do we have to take from this that there should be lots of minorities everywhere?"
When it was explained to Rampling that black members of the film industry feel like a minority, she responded: "No comment."
The inflammatory comments are likely to ignite further debate about diversity in Hollywood, after even Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs - the person overseeing the awards - admitted "it's time for big changes".
Spotlight's Mark Ruffalo, nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and The Big Short's Adam Kay, nominated for Best Director, as well as previous Oscar winners George Clooney and Lupita Nyong'o have also lent their support to the campaign.
Watch the trailer for 45 Years below:
