Kerry Washington says she was fired from two acting jobs because her acting was not “hood” enough.
In a recent interview with Aziz Ansari, Kerry Washington revealed that she was fired and recast from two TV shows because of Hollywood stereotyping.
“Before Scandal, I was actually cast in two other pilots. Both went to series, but I was fired and recast,” Washington said. “For both, it was because they wanted me to sound more ‘girlfriend,’ more like ‘hood,’ more ‘urban.’”
The actress, would later become one of the most power and influential actresses in TV history, landing a gig on the hit TV show playing Olivia Smart on Scandal.
Ansari was not surprised. “It’s interesting; like every person that’s not a straight, white guy has their version of this,” Ansari said.
Ansari has publicly addressed Hollywood stereotype issues in his Netflix show, Master of None.
“A lot of other minority actors have told me, ‘Oh, this so rings a bell’ when you go into an audition room and you see a bunch of people that look like you and you just start feeling like, ‘Oh I’m not here [for me], I’m here because I fit what looks like the person they want in here,’” he said.
But, Ansari and Washington are not letting Hollywood stereotypes stop them from reaching their dreams. Ansari is the executive producer of his own TV show on Netflix, and Kerry Washington is taking control of her acting career by creating her own TV shows and movies.
“I definitely feel like I’m at that point where it’s nice to not have to sit at home and wait to be invited to the party, but to be creating work for yourself,” she said.
Ansari is the executive producer of his show, and Washington isn’t waiting for scripts to land on her doorstep.
“I definitely feel like I’m at that point where it’s nice to not have to sit at home and wait to be invited to the party, but to be creating work for yourself,” she said.
Ansari is the executive producer of his show, and Washington isn’t waiting for scripts to land on her doorstep.
“I definitely feel like I’m at that point where it’s nice to not have to sit at home and wait to be invited to the party, but to be creating work for yourself,” she said.
The full episode of the Washington and Ansari interview airs on June 12 and June 19 on PBS. You can check out a piece of the interview below.
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