Julie Delpy has apologized for the comments she made regarding diversity in Hollywood, saying they were “never meant to diminish the injustice done to African American artists.”
“I’m very sorry for how I expressed myself,” Delpy said in a statement issued to Entertainment Weekly. “It was never meant to diminish the injustice done to African American artists or to any other people that struggle for equal opportunities and rights, on the contrary. All I was trying to do is to address the issues of inequality of opportunity in the industry for women as well (as I am a woman). I never intended to underestimate anyone else’s struggle! We should stay alert and united and support each other to change this unfair reality and don’t let anyone sabotage our
Delpy added that people who know her know that she “can’t stand for inequality and injustice of any kind.”
In an exclusive interview with TheWrap at the Sundance Film Festival last week, the two-time Oscar nominee said she felt muzzled by the industry and added that there’s “nothing worse than being a woman in this business.”
The France native also mentioned how she had previously raised the issue of how so few women were members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is currently facing backlash after no actors of color were nominated for a second year in a row.
“Two years ago, I said something about the Academy being very white male, which is the reality, and I was slashed to pieces by the media,” Delpy told TheWrap’s Jeff Sneider. “It’s funny — women can’t talk. I sometimes wish I were African American because people don’t bash them afterward.”
Delpy’s comments ignited a firestorm of criticism, with some detractors saying her statement was insensitive and offensive.