Actress Elizabeth Banks has apologised for calling out director Steven Spielberg for never making movies with female leads.
The 43-year-old actress made the remark when accepting Women in Film's Excellence in Film Award on Tuesday.
"I went to 'Indiana Jones' and 'Jaws' and every movie Steven Spielberg ever made, and by the way, he's never made a movie with a female lead," she said in her speech, before adding, "Sorry, Steven. I don't mean to call your ass out but it's true."
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"I messed up. When referring to Steven Spielberg at the Women in Film awards, I framed my comments about his films inaccurately. I want to be clear from the start that I take full responsibility for what I said and I'm sorry," Banks wrote in the statement.
"When I made the comments, I was thinking of recent films Steven directed, it was not my intention to dismiss the import of the iconic 'The Color Purple'. I made things worse by giving the impression that I was dismissing Shari Belafonte when she attempted to correct me. I spoke with Shari backstage and she was kind enough to forgive me," she continued.
"Those who have the privilege and honour of directing and producing films should be held to account for our mistakes, whether it's about diversity or inaccurate statements. I'm very sorry.
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