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Studio heads and Academy members should be taking a deep look at how many Black films are produced each year.
Viola Davis knows a thing or two about diversity in Hollywood.
Last year, the How to Get Away With Murder star became the first Black woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and now, she’s speaking out on the glaring lack of diversity at next month’s Oscars, reports Entertainment Weekly.
“The problem is not with the Oscars,” Davis said at Elle’s Women in Television dinner. “The problem is with the Hollywood movie-making system.”
Davis quickly rattled off a list of questions that Academy members should be asking themselves when it comes to nominating films and actors.
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“How many Black films are being produced every year?” she said. “How are they being distributed? The films that are being made, are the big-time producers thinking outside of the box in terms of how to cast the role? Can you cast a Black woman in that role? Can you cast a Black man in that role?”
And she wasn’t done! She went on to spout her (brilliant) wisdom about the gender pay gap, and how it disproportionately affects women of color.
“You could probably line up all the A-list Black actresses out there, [and] they probably don’t make what one A-list White woman makes in one film,” she said. “That’s the problem. You can change the Academy, but if there are no Black films being produced, what is there to vote for?”
Do you agree with Viola’s opinion?
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