Viola Davis was a guest at the Cannes Film Festival, and during a discussion she opened up about the racial disparities surrounding Black actors in Hollywood, per Variety. Even today, she sees those same issues affecting her gigs. Davis also detailed a traumatizing interaction she experienced with a filmmaker she described as a longtime friend.
“I knew him for 10 years and he called me Louise and I find out that it’s because his maid’s name is Louise,” she said during the “Women in Motion” event. “I was maybe around 30 at the time, so it was a while ago. But what you have to realize is that those micro-aggressions happen all the time.”
Davis also shed light on how colorism is still a crippling issue in the film and television industry. “If I had my same features and I were five shades lighter, it would just be a little bit different,” she said. “And if I had blond hair, blue eyes and even a wide nose, it would be even a little bit different than what it is now.” But, despite whatever gets thrown her way, the “Fences” star makes sure she continues to thrive and pave a way for other Black women who share the same story. According to BET, Davis is set to star in the movie “The Woman King,” which is set to release this fall.
