The 'How to Get Away with Murder' actress compares the disparity between white and black actresses in entertainment industry to eating a full meal instead of the leftovers.
- Nov 11, 2020
AceShowbiz - Viola Davis insists the "lack of access to opportunities" for Black actresses is "huge" as she demands change across the entertainment industry.
Speaking to InStyle magazine, the Oscar winner, 55, compares the disparity to eating a full meal instead of just the leftovers, telling the publication, "I want and I expect to get the same filet mignon that white actresses get!"
"Cooked at the exact temperature. You cannot throw me a bone with a really nice little piece of meat still on it and expect that's good enough for me," she continues.
"I love my collard greens and all of that, and I know we were given the leftovers. I know how to cook that, but I want a filet mignon."
The "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" star goes on to say she "fully expects changes," adding, "I'm trying to lift my hopes up. Even if it takes a little bit of vodka. If we don't move forward together, then we don't move forward."
Back in 2018, the actress also called out pay disparity between white actresses and women of color. "There are no percentages to show the difference," she said in an interview wih Variety. "It's vast. Hispanic women, Asian women, black women, we don't get paid what Caucasian women get paid. We just don't... We have the talent. It's the opportunity that we're lacking."
"We're not even invited to the table. I go to a lot of women's events here in Hollywood, and they're filled with female CEOs, producers and executives, but I'm one of maybe five or six people of colour in the room," she continued.
