Oscar winner Mo’Nique is disappointed by a sad reality about the film industry: There’s not much room for black actors in Hollywood.
The actress, who won an Oscar several years ago, called out Hollywood’s vision of diversity in a interview with HuffPost Live on Tuesday.
“Why is it that it can only be just one?” she asked. “Normally, when it comes to people of color, it can only be just one that gets in. When there was Sidney Poitier, who else was there? Then there was Denzel Washington, then it was Will Smith. And we always want to know, who’s going to be the next?”
Monique continued:
We never say, ‘Who’s going to be the next Matt Damon?’ because there’s George Clooney. We never say, ‘Who’s going to be the next George Clooney?’ because there’s Tom Hanks. We never say who’s going to be the next [of] those people because there’s an abundance, but when it comes to people of color, you’ll see that there’s normally just one or two and that’s it.”
While the actress praised the new changes to diversify the Academy Awards, she said the issue of race in the film industry goes beyond the Academy Awards. The actress urged film executives to stop “paying people based on the color of their skin.”
“Can we get the paychecks to go along with it? And no one seems to be saying that out loud,” she said. “It’s, ‘Let’s get more diversity! Let’s get more women! Let’s get it!’ … But can we get the income that comes along with it?”
Source: Huffington Post
