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Avatar actress Zoe Saldana has claimed that she continues to struggle with racism in Hollywood.

Branding the film industry as "ignorant", the 33-year-old has said that she continues to be judged by talent agents on the colour of her skin, rather than her acting ability.

She told The Mail on Sunday: "I've witnessed racism all my life. And of course there's racism and discrimination in Hollywood. You go for a part and they say, 'Oh, we really liked her, she's amazing, but we wanted to go with something more traditional'. As if I'm not a traditional American!

"I feel sorry for people like that. They need to educate themselves. Mostly you move on and say, 'Well, I wasn't meant to work with you or be around someone like you'. Other times you might say, 'You're ignorant, you're a racist. That's it. I'm out of here!'"

Saldana also spoke of her disgust at the 'hatred' shown towards the US by the rest of the world, saying: "It's trendy to hate Americans right now. Deep down, some people are enjoying the fact that the most powerful nation on Earth is struggling a little - and then they deny that's racist! And that frightens me."

Director James Cameron is currently working on a script for Avatars 2 and 3, with the first sequel expected to be released in 2014.

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