Film director Lee Daniels has criticized proponents of the OscarsSoWhite hashtag, calling them 'whiny' and entitled.

Daniels, who became the second-ever black director to be nominated for an Oscar with his 2009 film Precious, slammed those who were offended by the lack of diversity in an interview with the New York Times.

He said: 'These whiny people that think we’re owed something are incomprehensible and reprehensible to me.'

Film director Lee Daniels (left) has criticized proponents of #OscarsSoWhite, calling them 'whiny'. The hashtag was started by April Reign (right) to call out the lack of diversity among the Academy Award nominees

April Reign, a former lawyer who now works as an editor, started the OscarsSoWhite hashtag in 2015 in response to the lack of diversity among the Academy Award nominees.

She tweeted, 'Oscars so white they ask to touch my hair' and the hashtag took on a life of its own, sparking new controversies in 2016 after the 20 acting nominations did not include any people of color.

But Daniels was not sympathetic to the movement, telling the New York Times in an article published this week: 'Go out and do the work. Oscars so white! So what? Do your work.

'Let your legacy speak and stop complaining, man. Are we really in this for the awards?'

Daniels, who has worked on films like Monster's Ball and The Butler, continued: 'If I had thought that way – that the world was against me – I wouldn’t be here now.

'These whiny people that think we’re owed something are incomprehensible and reprehensible to me. I don’t expect acknowledgment or acceptance from white America. I’m going to be me,' he said.

Spike Lee (left) along with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith (right) boycott last year's awards ceremony in response to the lack of diversity among the Oscar nominees

Daniels, who most recently created the TV series Star, recently explained that he cast a white girl as the lead in a show of healing as the country is wracked by what he called a 'civil war' between the races.

He appeared on the talk show The Real, saying: 'I wanted to show a white girl that had some swag' as 'part of the healing process'.

He added: 'I wanted white people to feel cool. I wanted them to not be made fun of. We are one.'