Lupita Nyong’o’s account of the corollary of her Oscar victory validates what Black women in Hollywood have been claiming for decades. In an earlier CNN Inside Africa interview, artist Angélique Kidjo, star of 12 Years a Slave, disclosed that after winning an Academy Award in 2014, she was continually asked to play Black women who were ”enslaved or in pain, rather than being presented with a wide range of chances. According to Nyong’o, the pattern wasn’t arbitrary either.
The loopholes continue; this was the truth behind Hollywood’s facade of ‘diversity.’ “After I won that Academy Award, you’d think, ‘I’m gonna get lead roles here and there,'” she said. “[They’re like], ‘Oh, Lupita, we’d like you to play another movie where you’re a slave, but this time you’re on a slave ship.’ Those are the kind of offers I was getting in the months after winning my Academy Award.”
Nyong’o went on to say that, in addition to the repeated casting offers, she was the heart of many igniting rumours about whether her career would halt. She believes that this criticism was influenced by both racism and xenophobia. She added, “There were think pieces of ‘Is this the beginning and end of this dark-skinned Black African woman’s career?’ I had to deafen myself to all these pontificators because, at the end of the day, I’m not a theory. I’m an actual person.”
She stated that she intends to be a “joyful warrior” advocating for change, emphasising that she wants her art to help transform how the world views Africa and African women. Despite her historic victory, Nyong’o said that the offers made her feel confined, and supporters on social media shared her dissatisfaction. Many applauded her for openly identifying an industry trend that frequently goes unnoticed and admired her cool-headed yet strong speech.
“If that means I work one job less a year to ensure that I’m not perpetuating the stereotypes that are expected of people from my continent, then let me do that.” The actress stated that she would not accept roles that degraded African women to misery, even if it meant declining her livelihood.
