What’s up everybody, it’s Sussan Mourad here with Clevver News and Zendaya is opening
up about how heavy the responsibility is as a black woman in Hollywood, and what she’s
doing to make a lasting impact.
Can I just start off by saying, and I think I speak for all of us, how much I LOVE ZENDAYA.
I honestly just love it when we have news to share on Z because I can’t get enough
of her!
She’s incredibly talented, smart, beautiful and such an amazing role model.
Ok, I can be here all day, let’s jump into the story.
Zendaya was part of a recent Hollywood Reporter roundtable discussion with Janelle Monae,
Reese Witherspoon, Helena Bonham Carter, Jennifer Aniston and Rose Byrne.
Before we get into what Zendaya had to say, we’re actually going to go back to 2018.
See, Zendaya has talked about her skin color before and the role it plays in her career.
In a September 2018 issue of Marie Claire, Zendaya revealed that she doesn’t have the
same liberties as her white colleagues, explaining, quote; “What my white peers would be able
to get away with at this point in their career is not something that I will be able to do.
I don't want to jeopardize it at any point because I am not allowed the room to mess
up.”
Despite knowing there’s a difference between her and her white counterparts, Zendaya doesn’t
let her skin color dictate what roles she tries out for, saying, quote; “I always
tell my theatrical manager, 'Anytime it says they're looking for white girls, send me out.
Let me get in the room.
Maybe they'll change their minds.'
And, honestly, if there's a part that I didn't get or that I really wanted at the time, s--t
always ends up working out."
AMEN to that!
Zendaya is clearly a VERY successful actress and is only continuing to land more big roles.
But she stressed that she, along with fellow black actresses Yara Shahidi and Amandla Stenberg,
are NOT the only young black actresses out there.
She said, quote; “We kind of have been painted as the face, and that's not the truth.
It's important to have a conversation where we are opening the door to our peers and more
black women who don't necessarily look like us.”
Z explained one of her biggest fears to THR… not doing a good job to represent young black
women in Hollywood.
She explained, quote, "Being a young Disney actor, that's one level, being a young Black
woman is one level, and then being very hard on myself is another level.
It's also just a personal fear.
I want to do a good job, and sometimes that can cause you to be fearful of things.
But I will say that there's something that happens when a special character comes along,
for me at least, and those fears melt away."
Fast forward to present day, and in her roundtable with THR, Zendaya revealed the role of Rue
in Euphoria may have been written by a white man, but it was left open for non-white leads.
Zendaya said, quote; “Our creator [Sam Levinson] wrote Rue based off his own experiences with
addiction and he is a white man, so Rue could have been that.
Rue had no description.
So, I'm very grateful and hopefully I'll be in a space like these ladies where I can create
things and make space for women who look like me and women who don't look like me.
That's the ultimate goal, to make room, [because] for a lot of Black creatives, it's not a lack
of talent but a lack of opportunity.”
Zendaya also noted that she recognizes she has some privilege being a light skinned woman
saying quote: “I also think it's important being a light-skinned woman to recognize my
privilege in that sense as well and make sure that I'm not taking up space where I don't
need to.”
Zendaya was also asked about the things she shares with her young fans on social media
and how much she grapples with what her fan base can handle, and in particular, how that
impacts her choices.
She explained, quote;
“I have a heavy responsibility on my shoulders, but I'm appreciative for that because with
that there's a lot of good that I can do and I know who is watching.
Now, more than ever, specifically with Black Lives Matter and everything, I feel an obligation
to make sure that I'm aware and putting out the right things and in line with organizers
and people who are on the ground.”
Zendaya’s Instagram and Twitter handles have recently been filled with tons of posts
with helpful links, reshares and information reflective of the racial issues happening
right now.
Let us know what you think of Zendaya’s commitment to using her platform to speak
out on important issues in the comments down below.
I’m Sussan Mourad, bye guys.
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