Setting the record straight

Oscar-winner Meryl Streep has shed light upon her “We’re all Africans” comment on Thursday, claiming it was taken out of context. The actor clarified her statement in a write-up regarding the controversy she sparked, published in The Huffington Post.

Earlier this month, Streep headed her first international film jury at this year’s Berlin Film Festival. According to the 66-year-old, her response to an Egyptian reporter who asked if she was familiar with cinema from Africa and the Middle East during a press conference were distorted. “I was not minimising difference, but emphasising the invisible connection empathy enables, a thing so central to the fact of being human and what art can do: convey another person’s experience,” Streep explained.

The furore over Streep’s comments came amid the Hollywood diversity debate, which was sparked by all-white acting nominees at this year’s Academy Awards for a second year in a row. In the piece, entitled Setting the Record Straight from Berlin, the Devil Wears Prada star also mentioned that she was not asked about the all-white jury at press conference at all. “I did not defend the all-white jury, nor would I, if I had been asked to do so. Inclusion of races, genders, ethnicities and religions is important to me, as I stated at the outset of the press conference,” she said.

The comments from the three-time Oscar winner and one of the most accomplished actors of her generation, quickly went viral and made headlines around the world as some critics expressed disappointment. Others at the time said her remarks were taken out of context.

Streep said she hoped the attention drawn by her “misconstrued remarks” would be directed toward celebrating Berlin Film Festival’s award winners, which included Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire At Sea, a movie about African immigrants.