PIERS MORGAN has weighed in on the BAFTA diversity row following Sunday night's awards ceremony.
The Good Morning Britain presenter took aim at actress Margot Robbie, who had been nominated twice for the Best Supporting Actress award.
He said the Australian's nominated works weren't "the world's greatest performances" and suggested that actresses of colour had been unfairly overlooked.
"Margot Robbie was nominated twice in the Best Supporting Actress," he said.
Morgan argued that 'black actresses' didn't get a look while Robbie received two nominations for 'perfectly OK' performances"I have watched both the films she is in, one is Bombshell I think and the other one the Hollywood thing with Brad Pitt.
"She is perfectly OK in both the films these aren’t the worlds greatest performances!
"You don't come away thinking wow Margot Robbie, I think she is a very good actress, very glamorous and everything else and very talented but however these are not seminal acting parts she is getting nominated for and yet there were some black actresses like Lupita Nyong'o who did not get a look in!"
Margot RobbieThe issue of racial diversity in film awards has been a talking point for a number of years now, and during his acceptance speech, Joaquin Phoenix - who won the Best Actor prize for his role in Joker - lambasted the film industry as a whole for what he described as "systemic racism."
"We send a very clear message to people of colour that 'you’re not welcome here'," he said.
"I don’t think anybody wants a handout or preferential treatment," continued Phoenix. "People just want to be acknowledged and appreciated and respected for their work.
Joaquin Phoenix during his acceptance speech at last night's BAFTA awards"I’m ashamed to say that I’m part of the problem, because I’ve not ensured that the sets I’ve worked on are inclusive.
He added: "We have to do the hard work to truly understand systemic racism. It is the obligation of the people who have created and benefit from the system of oppression to be the ones to dismantle it. So that’s on us."
