Jessica Chastain's Critics' Choice Awards speech about the need for more diversity in Hollywood has sparked quite a bit of backlash from racists who opposed her statements, E! News reports. 

The Oscar-nominated actress recently addressed the need for diversity in Hollywood while accepting the Most Valuable Player honor at this years CCAs which took place on Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. 

"Today is Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, so it got me thinking about our need to build the strength of diversity in our industry, and to stand together against homophobic, sexist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic and racist agendas," Chastain said. "I'm an optimist and I can't help but feel hopeful about the future of film, especially looking at all of the beautiful people in this room." 

She continued,"Martin Luther King Jr. said, 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter,'" she continued before concluding, "And I would like to encourage everyone in this room to please speak up. Thank you."

And while Chastain's speech was mostly well received by the public and her peers, she later revealed to the Associated Press via CBS that she has also garnered backlash from racists.

"I've had really terrible people who are racists comment on the speech and say really terrible things. I'm understanding that some people in this world, how much hate they can have," she said.

Chastain then went on to clarify the statements made in her speech, insisting that the diversity she is hoping for should not happen solely in award shows, but throughout the entertainment industry. 

"Some people had taken my speech and then made it about awards - like SAG Awards or Oscars. That's not what my speech was about," Chastain said.

"To me awards are just a reflection. It's just a symptom of the disease and the disease is in the industry. If we had more diversity in our films it would be reflected in diversity in the nominees."

Chastain's need for diversity speech comes on the heels of the immense social media backlash the Academy Awards garnered last Thursday for not nominating "Selma" for Best Director and Best Actor, the Huffington Post reported.

Social media users created the trending hashtag #OscarsSoWhite to shed light on the Academy Awards's favoritism over white actors and white-produced films.