The New York Times published a fantastic piece comprised of 27 quotes from celebs speaking on their eye-opening experiences in Hollywood — with stories ranging from not being ‘Latin enough’ for roles (Eva Longoria) to racist remarks made on set. Here are the quotes that moved us the most.
America Ferrera
Actress, producer of Superstore
“I was 18 and putting myself on tape for a movie I really wanted. I got that phone call: They cast a Latino male in another role in the film; they’re not looking to cast [a Latina]. So I defiantly bleached my hair blond, painted my face white and made the audition tape. I never heard back.”
Eva Longoria
Star, director, producer of Telenovela
“The gatekeepers are not usually people of color, so they don’t understand you should be looking for way more colors of the rainbow within that one ethnicity.”
John Ridley
Screenwriter of 12 Years a Slave
“I was determined the lead [for a film] would be a black woman, and I remember the executive saying, ‘Why does she have to be black?‘ And me saying: ‘She doesn’t have to be; I want her to be black. Why would you not consider it?'”
Jussie Smollett
Actor in Empire
“…this older black dude walked up and said, ‘I didn’t want to bother you, I didn’t want a selfie, I just wanted to let you know that the story line of Jamal [his gay character on Empire] really made it easier for me to talk to my son about his sexuality.'”
Ken Jeong
Creator and star of Dr. Ken
“A U.C.L.A. acting professor gave me good marks in my performance and [said]: ‘You’re a good actor, which is why I’m telling you, stay the hell out of L.A.‘”
Mike Colter
Actor in The Good Wife, Jessica Jones
“I’m usually comfortable being the only black guy in the room. More often than not, I am. I don’t look at it as a negative, because if I do that, I’m already defeated before it starts.”
Mindy Kaling
Creator, star of The Mindy Project
“My role is not just artist. It’s also activist because of the way I look… I want to fill my desire to write vibrant, flawed characters, but then also be a role model to young people.”
Priyanka Chopra
Actress in Quantico
“At an event, I remember this girl hugged me and started crying. She said, ‘Thank you for making us relevant.’ It gives me goose bumps every time I think about it.”
Queen Latifah
Actress, musician, producer
“I felt I represented a woman out there who should get to see somebody who weighs about as much as she does.”
Rick Famuyiwa
Writer, director of Dope
“It’s always a weird conversation when you’re trying to explain how a film about kids from Inglewood can be mainstream, but you don’t have the same conversation about a very specific set of kids in suburban Chicago or South Boston.”
Sam Esmail
Creator of Mr. Robot
“Growing up, I [thought] white male was the norm, the default character in every story. I never thought other possibilities could exist.”
Teyonah Parris
Actress in Chi-Raq, Dear White People
“In speech class, the teacher, a white man, would say you’re talking ghetto, don’t talk ghetto. I’m not only offended, but I’m confused because while there’s nothing wrong with people who come from the projects or the ghetto, that’s actually not my experience.”
Wendell Pierce
Actor in The Wire, Grease: Live
“I was working on The Gregory Hines Show that depicted three generations of black men. It was on CBS in 1997. [After] the read-through, the studio and network give notes. Gregory kissed everybody, and so in the show he would kiss his son, Matty. This particular day someone from CBS said: ‘I notice every time you come in, you kiss Matty. So I wanted to ask, do black people kiss their kids?’ That was the most offensive thing I think I’ve ever [heard].”
Let’s talk about the Oscars
But those aren’t the only celebs speaking out. Plenty of celebs have addressed the Oscars’ lack of diversity.
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