During a Women In Motion robust conversation at the Cannes Film Festival with Variety and Kering, Viola Davis recalled a time a former director referred to her by his maid’s name when she was around 30 years old, showing that despite her status, Black actors still face racism and racist micro aggressions.
“I had a director who did that to me,” she said. “He said, ‘Louise!’ I knew him for ten years, and he called me Louise, and I find out that it’s because his maid’s name is Louise. I was maybe around 30 at the time, so it was a while ago. but what you have to realize is that those micro-aggressions happen all the time.”
Davis touched on how she is considered an A-list celebrity yet faces the reality that roles are limited regarding her skin color. While she was the star of the ABC hit series, How To Get Away With Murder, which knocked down the race barriers and had a Black woman playing the lead role, it didn’t lead to more lead role opportunities for Black women.
“I know that when I left How to Get Away With Murder, that I don’t see a lot of dark skin women in lead roles on TV and not even in streaming services,” Davis said. “And that ties into ideology and ethos and mentality, and that’s speaking in the abstract. Why aren’t you hiring a dark skin woman when she walks in the room, and you say she blows you away? Create space and storytelling for her so when she thrives, she’s not thriving despite her circumstance but thriving off her circumstances.”
When it comes to any role Davis gets, she wants to inspire and portray something influential. In 2020, Davis revealed that she regretted her role in The Help because of the marginalization of Black maids and its “white liberator” plot.
