[Update] And the Oscar for Best Diversity Take Goes to Meryl Streep, Who Says 'We're All Africans Really'

By Clover Hope  |  February 11, 2016 | 3:35pm
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The D-word became a topic of debate on Thursday at the Berlin International Film Festival, where jury president Meryl Streep commented on the seven-member jury panel being all white.

AP reports:

Streep, who heads a festival film jury for the first time, said she was committed to equality and inclusion “of all genders, races, ethnicities, religions.”

Addressing the makeup of the Berlin jury (which includes Clive Owen and Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher, among others), Streep told reporters at the festival: “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. So I think the Berlinale is ahead of the game.”

As usual, Meryl won everything with this: “There is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture, and after all we’re all from Africa originally. Berliners, we’re all Africans really.”

Could be a clever jab at the entire debate—Variety described Streep’s tone as humorous and wrote:

….in reference to John F. Kennedy’s famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” quote, Streep proclaimed: “We are all Africans, we are all Berliners.”

She also said, “I have no idea how to run a jury.” Of all the Oscars/Hollywood diversity takes so far, Streep’s may be the most straightforward and existentially sound, as well as the strangest—the perfect combo.

The questioning continued:

Asked by an Egyptian reporter whether she understood films from the Arab world and North Africa, Streep said that while she didn’t know much about the region, “I’ve played a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures.”

Thus completing what is so far the most perfectly odd response in this ongoing trending topic.

CORRECTION: The “we’re all Africans, really” quote from Streep was not in response to a question about the festival’s all-white jury panel. From a corrected issued by Mashable:

Meryl Streep’s “We’re all Africans, really” comment was a direct response to a question about Arab and African films, not a response to questions about the Berlinale Film Festival’s all white jury, as the article and headline originally suggested. A recording of the panel shows that Streep’s original comments were misrepresented in subsequent reports.
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