00:00So Yvette, welcome to Essence Black Women in Hollywood.
00:08Thank you. I am so excited to be here. I think I was the first person down there.
00:11They were putting up pylons and stuff when I drove in. I was like, it's here, it's today! I'm so excited.
00:15What does it mean to you to be a black woman in Hollywood?
00:17You know, I feel like we're kind of the standard bearers and we're kind of lighting a torch.
00:23And that's good and bad because sometimes we're not allowed to do the types of roles that will really elevate us as a people.
00:30And so sometimes when I'm saying yes to something, I'm like, oh, this is going to set us back.
00:35You know what I mean? Because it feels like there's so few opportunities for us to shine in the way that we know that we shine.
00:42Because we know that we're kings and queens. But for the most part, we're service people on film and in television.
00:48We're assistants. We're meter maids. We're nurses. We're the judge. You know, it's changing a little bit.
00:54And I think that maybe if more people of color get into places, positions of power, it'll get even better.
01:00But right now it's like my agent calls. I'm like, am I TSA agent? Am I the attitude?
01:05Yeah. Yeah. Oh, attitude is in. Oh, you don't have to say that. That is understood that you need to be sassy.
01:11The sassy meter maid, you know, the sassy assistant. And I'm tired of it. And I want more for our people.
01:17So right now, being a person of color in Hollywood, it feels like we have to fly a flag and fight for the fullness of who we are to be shown, which doesn't always happen.
01:28And here we are in 2016. Everybody's talking about Oscar so white. How are you feeling about that conversation?
01:33You know, I wasn't surprised. And that's probably very sad. You know, someone made mention of Jennifer Lawrence, who I love, in the movie Joy.
01:42And it's essentially a movie about a woman that made a mop. Other great products. But it's a regular woman who did an extraordinary thing.
01:49But when black people get Oscar nominated roles, they have to be Malcolm X or they have to be the greatest black person that ever lived.
01:57So our best is always we have to be a thousand times better. We all know this this statement. We have to be a thousand times better to get just a crumb, you know.
02:06And then I was listening to Lena and Wendy talking earlier. And even when you are Tina Turner, Angela Bassett or you are Malcolm X, Denzel Washington, you still get the Oscar for training day.
02:17Yeah. So it's like, really? So even when we are a king or a queen or somebody amazing or someone that does something great, we still can't get the nod until people of color are the people that make the decisions.
02:28Our films will not be greenlit. I think they feel when they when they award Lupita or Jennifer or Octavia that there you go.
02:36Yeah. Pat on the head. Aren't you happy? What do you mean? We gave we gave a few of you Oscars. Be happy for another 20 years. Let us have our ceremony.
02:44Yeah. You know, I'm not hating on the Oscars. I feel like the people that are in there are voting for the films that resonate to them.
02:52And if I was a a voting member of that academy, I would also vote for films that resonate with me.
02:59Yeah. So instead of hating on them for them not nominating us, bring people in with different viewpoints so we can have a full, you know, a plethora of films to choose from.
03:09Yeah. So you're we know you a lot for television. Yes. What are your assessments?
03:14I mean, we've got Cookie and Olivia and Annalise and all these like various types of black women on TV.
03:21Yeah. What what are your assessments of it?
03:23We're doing so much better in TV than we are in film. All we've ever wanted is for our fullness to be on display.
03:28I will be a meter maid if I can be a villain next week, you know, but if all I am is this, then that means anyone that has never met a person of color will think that that's all we are.
03:39Whoever you are, wherever you are in the world, if your story has not been told, it's time.
03:43That means the world is time.
03:44Music.
03:45Music.
03:46Music.
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