In a conversation about the racial inequalities in Hollywood, actress Viola Davis opened up about a time she was mistreated. As Davis recalls, a director once referred to her as his maid’s name on set.
In the midst of what has been taken away from her due to the color of her skin, Davis has managed to become both a spokesperson for colorism in Hollywood and a role model to many who share her struggles on a day-to-day basis. In some ofher most popular roles likeFences(2016) andHow to Get Away with Murder(2014-2020),Davis has used her talents to bring awareness and confront these racial inequalities that people of color have been facing for centuries, and she did the same during the 75th Cannes Film Festival.
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“I had a director who did that to me. He said, ‘Louise!’ I knew him for 10 years, and he called me Louise and I found out that it’s because his maid’s name is Louise," Davis revealed during a Women In Motion conversation with Variety. “I was maybe around 30 at the time, so it was a while ago. But what you have to realize is that those microaggressions happen all the time.” The term microaggression is defined as underlying insults and comments directed at minorities and those who belong to marginalized communities, and it’s common that those who are making the comments don’t realize what they’ve said is derogatory.The Suicide Squadactresswent on to discuss the entertainment businesses' lack of progression in regard to racial equality.
She dived deeper into this by explaining that many of the roles she’s able to be selected for are limited due to her racial background, even though she’s a Tony, Emmy, andAcademy Award-winning star. The actress also claimed that she’s missed the chance to perform in many different roles during her career due to her ethnicity and that she was deemed not pretty enough to be cast. Davis expressed that this harsh reality of working as an African American woman in the entertainment business makes her angry and shatters her heart at the same time.
Despite being mistreated by that director during the early days of her career, Davis has still chosen to leave the director’s name unknown, as she tries to move forward but not forget what she’s experienced in the past. Davis is set to star in thehighly-anticipated biopic film titledThe Woman King, which is based on the entire female military within The Kingdom of Dahomey, which was one of the most powerful African states during the 18th and 19th centuries. With more to come in the future, the actress will undoubtedly continue to deliver jaw-dropping performances on screen, while still fighting to level the playing field off the screen for other women of color and herself.
