During the BAFTA Awards on Sunday night, actor Joaquin Phoenix gave a shocking acceptance speech while accepting his award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work in the movie Joker. 

After taking the stage, Phoenix ripped into the BAFTAs for their lack of diversity in this year’s nominees, claiming that they were sending a message to minorities that they were “not welcome here.” He also slammed the “systemic racism” of the entertainment industry, admitting that he is “part of the problem” himself.

“I feel very honored and privileged to be here tonight. BAFTA has always been very supportive of my career and I’m deeply appreciative. But I have to say I also feel conflicted because so many of my fellow actors that are deserving don’t have that same privilege,” Phoenix began in his speech. “I think we send a very clear message to people of color that you’re not welcome here. I think that’s the message we’re sending to people that have contributed so much to our medium and our industry and in ways that we benefit from.”

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Phoenix went on to admit that he has not done enough to promote diversity on the film sets he has worked on.

“I don’t think anybody wants a handout or a preferential treatment,” he added “Although that’s 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’m ashamed to say that I’m part of the problem. I have not done everything in my power to ensure that the sets I work on are inclusive.”

Phoenix ended his surprising speech by talking about the “systemic racism” of Hollywood.

“But I think that it’s more than just having sets that are multicultural,” he concluded. “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 ones that dismantle it. So that’s on us.”

Instead of being insulted by the speech, the audience of actors seemed to love it, as they gave Phoenix a huge round of applause.

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This is not the first time Phoenix has gotten political on this year’s awards show circuit, according to Breitbart News. While accepting a Golden Globe last month, Phoenix gave a speech about climate change, calling out his fellow stars for hypocrisy when it comes to the environment.

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“We don’t have to take private jets from Palm Springs to the awards, please. I’ll try to do better and I hope you will too,” he said at the time.

It’s exactly these kinds of melodramatic political lectures from actors that have made awards shows so insufferable to watch in recent years. Who does Phoenix think he is lecturing other people about how they live their lives? He should stick to acting, and leave the politics aside next time he’s given an award.