Jane Campion issues apology for 'thoughtless comment' about Serena and Venus Williams

Jane Campion issued an apology Monday after sparking backlash with her commentary on Venus and Serena Williams.

"I made a thoughtless comment equating what I do in the film world with all that Serena Williams and Venus Williams have achieved. I did not intend to devalue these two legendary Black women and world-class athletes," Campion said in a statement to USA TODAY. 

The "Power of the Dog" director's apology continued: "The fact is the Williams sisters have, actually, squared off against men on the court (and off), and they have both raised the bar and opened doors for what is possible for women in this world. The last thing I would ever want to do is minimize remarkable women. I love Serena and Venus. Their accomplishments are titanic and inspiring. Serena and Venus, I apologize and completely celebrate you."

Speaking onstage at the Critics Choice Awards on Sunday while accepting the award for best director, Campion, 67, gave a shout-out to her fellow directing nominees (the "guys," as she describes the rest of the all-male directors nominated this year) before she turned her attention to two all-star audience members: tennis icons Serena and Venus Williams.

"Serena and Venus, you are such marvels. However, you do not play against the guys like I have to," she said with a laugh, hoisting her trophy above her head as the rest of the audience cheered and applauded. (Both sisters have won multiple mixed doubles tournaments against male tennis players.) 

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The camera cut to a shot of Venus Williams, reacting with an apprehensive smile. Serena Williams was shown clapping and laughing. Venus Williams and Campion were later photographed smiling and hugging. But backlash online was swift: Stars and social media users alike wondered why the director felt the need to "diminish" the athletes' achievements.

"jane taking time out of her best director speech to tell two Black women that she is more oppressed than them is PEAK white feminism," Jodie Turner-Smith tweeted. 

"Is Jane Campion aware what Venus & Serena had to deal with in the whitest of sports? What an insulting comparison. She must have not watched ("King Richard")," one Twitter user wrote, adding that Serena Williams "was right when she recently wrote, 'No matter how far we come, we get reminded that it's not enough.' "

"It was so unnecessary," added another. "They all won so why did she need to try to diminish the William’s sisters (sic) achievements?"

"Yeah they only had to fight to make women’s tennis as relevant as it is today in the face of unspeakable racism and misogyny," tweeted actress Jameela Jamil. "A walk in the park."

The tennis star duo were there to speak onstage about "King Richard," the biopic about their father starring Will Smith, who took home the Critics Choice Award for best actor. "To watch out story on the big screen is one of the most special experiences of our lives," Serena Williams said.

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At the Directors Guild Awards the day before, Campion, 67, was asked whether she was surprised by 77-year-old Sam Elliott's comments about her Netflix Western.

Elliott went viral earlier this month over expletive-filled comments he made about the movie's portrayal of the West on a Feb. 28 episode of the film podcast "WTF with Marc Maron." 

The actor said he watched the film in Texas while shooting "1883," the spinoff of "Yellowstone." 

He compared the movie's ranchers to Chippendales dancers who "wear bowties and not much else," saying that was what all the cowboys, including Cumberbatch, looked like. "All running around in chaps and no shirts. There's all these allusions of homosexuality … It was like, where's the Western in this Western?"

The actor praised Campion as a "brilliant director," adding "I love her work, her previous work."

But he asked how a "woman from down there (New Zealand)" can "know about the American West" and questioned how she could film the movie in New Zealand and "call it Montana" and "say 'This is the way it was.' "

Previous story:'Power of the Dog' star Benedict Cumberbatch responds to 'very odd' criticism of the movie

In Campion's comments to Variety Saturday, she began, "I think Sam – look, what can I say," spelling out a choice word to describe Elliott. "I'm sorry to say it, but he's not a cowboy. He's an actor. The West is a mythic space, and there's a lot of room on the range."

She continued: "I think it's a little bit sexist, because if you think about the number of amazing Westerns made in Spain by (spaghetti western creator) Sergio Leone, it's – I mean, I consider myself a creator. And I think he sees me as a woman or something lesser first, and I don't appreciate that." 

Later that night, Campion won the top honor from the DGAs, just the third – and second consecutive – woman in the awards' history to take home the prize for best theatrical feature film director. Maggie Gyllenhaal won the first-time feature film award with her directing debut “The Lost Daughter.”

"Dog" star Benedict Cumberbatch also had responded to the criticism against Campion's work and his own Oscar-nominated portrayal of rancher Phil Burbank.

Speaking as part of BAFTA’s Film Sessions on March 4, Cumberbatch did not give specific names but alluded to Elliott's criticism.

"I'm trying very hard not to say anything about a very odd reaction that happened the other day on a radio podcast over here, without meaning to stir over the ashes of that," said Cumberbatch, who added it was "unfair" to get into details since he had not listened to the podcast but read news reports.

"Someone really took offense to the West being portrayed in this way," Cumberbatch said.

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Cumberbatch said it was important to portray the complex Burbank in the 21st century, with his toxic masculinity stemming from his repressed sexuality, "because there are many of him still in the world."

"If we are to understand what poisons the well in men, what creates toxic masculinity, we need to look (under) the hood of characters like Phil Burbank to see what their struggle is and why that's there in the first place," he said. "Otherwise it will continue to repeat itself."

Cumberbatch said it was important to explore "what is expected of a man" through the "Western archetype mold of masculinity" and "deconstruct that through Phil."

"It's not a history lesson," he said. "These people still exist in our world. Whether it's on our doorstep or whether it's down the road or whether it's someone we meet in a bar or pub or on the sports field, there is aggression and anger and frustration and an inability to control or know who you are in that moment that causes damage to that person and, as we know, damage to others around them."

"The Power of the Dog" leads the pack with 12 Oscar nominations, including best picture and best director for Campion.

Contributing: Bryan Alexander