Meryl Streep's 'We're all Africans, really' comment was taken out of context

CORRECTION: 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.

At the panel, a reporter from Egypt spoke about how the festival had a film “representing Tunisia, the Arab world and Africa in the main competition” and followed that up with a question for Streep: "How do you see this part of the world? And is it easy for you to understand that culture? And are you following any of the Arab movies?”

This was Streep’s response.

“Yes, in fact I’ve just seen a film called Theeb, which I loved. I saw Timbuktu recently … I don’t know very much about, honestly, about the Middle East, and yet I’ve played a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures. The thing that I notice is that we’re all, there is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture. And, after all, we’re all from Africa originally. We’re all Berliners, we’re all Africans, really."

Our original story appears below. The post first appeared with the headline Meryl Streep's diversity: 'We're all Africans, really'

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Ask Meryl Streep about diversity, and she'll give you a rather curious answer.

"We're all Africans, really," the three-time Oscar winner said on Thursday, in response to an inquiry about the all-white panel at the Berlin International Film Festival. Streep is serving as the festival's jury president this year.

See also: Latino, Asian and Native American actors aren't at the Oscars, either

She added that the festival is determined to include "all genders, races, ethnicities, religions." Its 2016 jury is made up of seven white people: actor Lars Eidinger, British film critic Nick James, French photographer Brigitte Lacombe, British actor Clive Owen, Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher and Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska.

"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," Streep said. "So I think the Berlinale is ahead of the game."

An Egyptian reporter also asked Streep if she "understood films from the Arab world and North Africa," according to AP. Though she doesn't know much about the area, she says, "I've played a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures."

"There is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture, and after all we're all from Africa originally," she said. "Berliners, we're all Africans, really."

Okay, Meryl.

Diversity has been a major issue in Hollywood as of late, especially concerning this year's Academy Awards. Only white actors were nominated for Oscars, with mostly white nominees in other categories as well. Celebrities like Lupita Nyong'o and Ava DuVernay spoke out against the nominations, while Jada Pinkett and Will Smith vowed to boycott the awards show altogether.

Meryl Streep has more money than talent in Florence Foster Jenkins trailer

Meryl Streep has assumed all manner of accents and mannerisms (and Kurt Russells) to play real-life characters (and approximations) throughout her career, but her latest film sees her feigning a significant lack of talent to embody the biopic’s subject. Streep plays the titular socialite in Florence Foster Jenkins, a woman of poor singing ability who nonetheless made a name for herself as a singer, thanks to her substantial means.

Jenkins was either unaware of or indifferent to her lack of pitch or rhythm, and blithely charged her way through many performances at a time when the glitterati were seemingly happy to listen to a tuneless hack (which we’re pretty sure hasn’t happened since). But her vast fortune and longtime partner St. Clair Bayfield (Hugh Grant) shielded her from any criticism (it’s even rumored she personally wrote any positive reviews). Through her halfhearted work and persistence, Jenkins proved that the way to Carnegie Hall is inheritance, inheritance, inheritance.

Meryl Streep sparks uproar over 'We're all Africans' remarks

Meryl Streep, the most admired actress of her generation, fueled Hollywood's diversity controversy on Thursday when she said that all of humanity originated in Africa.

The three-time Oscar winner, who is in Berlin heading up her first international film jury, made the comment at a news conference when she was asked if she was familiar with world cinema, particularly films from Africa and the Middle East.

She said she had recently seen the Jordanian film "Theeb," about a Bedouin boy on a hazardous mission in the desert, and also "Timbuktu," about Islamist militants taking over the fabled Malian city.

"The thing that I notice is that there is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture," she said. "And after all, we're all from Africa originally, you know. We're all Berliners; we're all Africans, really."

The comments from Streep, who has been Oscar-nominated a record 19 times, made headlines around the world and swiftly became one of the top trends on Twitter.

They followed an uproar over the all-white Oscar acting nominee selection for a second straight year, which forced the movie industry to confront how blacks, Asians and Latinos are represented in front of and behind the camera in Hollywood.

Some commentators on Thursday expressed disappointment.

"You’d think Meryl Streep would be smarter than to say “We’re all Africans, really” in any context, but alas," said @Jamil Smith.

Others said Streep's remarks were misinterpreted.

"Watch the whole interview before jumping on Meryl Streep," tweeted @evansArmour. "Her quote was taken out of context."

Black Magic Woman's tweet included a poster of Streep's 1985 "Out of Africa" film, where she plays a white land owner. "Now we know Meryl Streep was serious when she made this movie," the tweet said.

Streep's U.S. representative did not return calls for comment or clarification.

In Berlin, Streep said her seven-member, mainly female jury included a film critic and a photographer and that the panel would have diverse viewpoints.

"We will be looking at different things in these films," she said, "but we're human beings, and film is an emotional experience so ... we're going to make these decisions based on what our heads want to say.

"But we're first attacked by the heart, so that's an interesting process. I'm so looking forward to it."