French film industry branded racist for banning black actors from dubbing white stars

London, Jan 4 (ANI): The French film industry has been branded 'racist' after it banned black actors from dubbing white stars in Gallic versions of English-language movies.

An investigation revealed that casting directors regularly expelled black applicants in the belief that they had a distinctive tone of voice unsuitable for dubbing white parts.

The findings come amid claims that the failure to promote black stars in films and other media is contributing to a wider segregation in French society.

The Higher Authority for the Fight Against Discrimination and for Equality (Halde), France's equivalent of the Commission for Racial Equality, said that double standards were widespread within the French film industry.

The investigation revealed that white actors were deemed to have 'universal' voices able to dub black actors such as Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman.

Meanwhile, black artists were victims of 'prejudice and stereotypes', which meant that they were hardly ever chosen to dub white stars.

The investigation onto the matter was conducted after black actress and singer Yasmine Modestine complained that she had been the victim of discrimination when she was excluded from dubbing a white star in an American television series.

"Directors in the dubbing world believe that black people have black voices. But if that's the case how come whites are allowed to dub blacks? The truth is its racism," Times Online quoted Modestine, as saying. (ANI)