Source: Sheri Determan/WENN.com / WENN
The nation is fighting for a new norm, as we come together to protest racism and police violence aimed at the Black community. And, while we’re not necessarily looking to celebrities to lead the way, there have been a few who’ve been a guiding light and nothing short of inspirational during this ongoing fight. In a recently resurfaced clip, Viola Davis talks about being undervalued as a Black woman actress, even though her career is comparable to the Meryl Streep and more.
Viola also calls attention to the fact that she is paid a hell of a lot less than the entertainment industry’s leading white ladies.
“I got the Oscar, I got the Emmy, I got the two Tonys, I’ve done Broadway, I’ve done off-Broadway, I’ve done TV, I’ve done film, I’ve done all of it,” Viola says in the clip. “I have a career that’s probably comparable to Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, Sigourney Weaver. They all came out of Yale, they came out of Julliard, they came out of NYU. They had the same path as me, and yet I am nowhere near them, not as far as money, not as far as job opportunities, nowhere close to it.”
“But I have to get on that phone and people say, ‘You’re a Black Meryl Streep…There is no one like you.’ Okay, then if there’s no one like me, you think I’m that, you pay me what I’m worth. You give me what I’m worth — and even in terms of roles.” she continues. Watch below.
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We cannot find the lie. That said, Lena Dunham recently tweeted that “the Hollywood system is rigged in favor of white people and that my career took off at a young age with relative ease, ease I wasn’t able to recognize because I also didn’t know what privilege was.”
Chime in with your thoughts!
