Tagged: Empire

“There was a noticeable shift toward minority castings last season, with more parts opening up to ethnic actors, a casting term used for non-Caucasian thesps. It was a concerted effort, with more than one instance where a family member role was rewritten as adopted to make them ethnic. Then, following the success of freshman series How To Get Away With Murder, Black-ish, Fresh Off The Boat, Jane the Virgin and especially Empire, which launched to huge ratings at the kickoff of pilot casting season, ethnic castings exploded this season.”

The white author had the audacity to ask [her mostly white/”Jewish” readers] in the title of her article, if the shift toward minority casting was “too much of a good thing.” Smdh!! Why would anyone ask that, especially if Hollywood has never been and IS STILL NOT racist….

Source: Nellie Andreeva. “Pilots 2015: The Year Of Ethnic Castings – About Time Or Too Much Of Good Thing?” Deadline. March 24, 2015. http://deadline.com/2015/03/tv-pilots-ethnic-casting-trend-backlash-1201386511.

“Mo’Nique won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar [in 2010], but has not appeared in a major Hollywood movie since. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Mo’Nique says she believes she’s been ‘blackballed’ by Hollywood for refusing to play by their rules.”

82nd Annual Academy Awards - Press Room

Later in the Mediaite article, Lee Daniels — director of films like Precious and The Butler, as well as producer of the hit FOX television show Empire — confirmed Mo’Nique’s statements:

Mo’nique is a creative force to be reckoned with. Her demands through Precious were not always in line with the campaign. This soured her relationship with the Hollywood community. I consider her a friend. I have and will always think of her for parts that we can collaborate on. However, the consensus among the creative teams and powers thus far were to go another way with these roles.

Smdh! This is so sad!! And what’s crazy, is that just a few days ago, I was thinking about her and wondered why I hadn’t seen in any films recently. What’s crazier, is that the article notes that the same thing happened to Hattie McDaniel, the first African-American actress to win an Oscar, after she won in 1940 for her role in Gone with the Wind.

I’m curious to know what “demands” she [and more likely than not, her manger and/or AGENT] made that were not “always in line with the campaign”? Was the problem that she “demand[ed]” things that are typically afforded to her white/”Jewish” counterparts in Hollywood?

Mo’Nique recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter to speak about being “blackballed” from the industry. That interview can be read here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/monique-i-was-blackballed-winning-774616. Maybe this article answers my unanswered questions…but I know it won’t. Simply, there’s no excuse to blackball a person who has more than paid their dues and dedicated much of their life to their craft, especially after winning a damn Oscar!

Source: Matt Wilstein. “Lee Daniels Confirms: Mo’Nique Was ‘Blackballed’ by Hollywood After Winning Oscar.” Mediaite. February 19, 2015. http://www.mediaite.com/online/lee-daniels-confirms-monique-was-blackballed-by-hollywood-after-winning-oscar/.