Joaquin Phoenix Calls Out Film Industry’s ‘Systemic Racism’ in BAFTA Speech

EXCERPT:

PHOENIX: "I don’t think anybody wants a handout or a preferential treatment, although that is what we give ourselves every year. I think that people just want to be acknowledged and appreciated and respected for their work. This is not a self-righteous condemnation, because I am ashamed to say that I am part of the problem, I have not done everything in my power to ensure that the sets I work on are inclusive. But I think that it is more than just having sets that are multicultural. I think that we have to really do the hard work to truly understand systemic racism. I think that it is the obligation of the people that have created and perpetuate and benefit from a system of oppression to be the one to dismantle it. So that’s on us.”

(Cheering and Applause)