Oscar favorite Jane Campion apologized Monday to tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams for their “thoughtless” comment on Sunday during an awards ceremony in Hollywood.
Campion sparked criticism with his speech when he received the Film Critics' Award for Best Director for his gothic western “The Power of the Dog”.
The New Zealand director praised women at the star-studded gala, and highlighted the Williams sisters who stood next to actor Will Smith, star of the biopic “King Richard: A Winning Family”.
“Serena and Venus, you are wonderful. However, you don't have to compete with men like I do,” Campion said.
The comments provoked an immediate reaction, with people on social media calling them sexist and racist.
Campion's words were tweeted countless times, and the director rushed this Monday to apologize.
“I made an inconsiderate comment equating what I have achieved in the film industry with what Serena Williams and Venus Williams have achieved,” he said in a statement published by US media.
“My intention was not to demerit these two legendary black women, world-class athletes.”
“The fact is that the Williams sisters have competed with men on and off the courts and have raised standards and opened doors for women in this world.”
“The last thing I want is to minimize these great women. I love Serena and Venus. His conquests are titanic and inspiring. Serena and Venus, I apologize and completely applaud them,” Campion wrote.
The furor caused by her comments on Sunday threatened to obfuscate her triumphant weekend, in which she also received a BAFTA award, increasing her list of awards in the final stretch to the Oscars in which she will compete in the category of best director.
Campion also won a Golden Globe and a United States Directors' Union Award for the film set in the American West in the 1920s, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Voting to decide the Oscar winners begins on Thursday, while the ceremony will be held in Hollywood on March 27.
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