It seems that Hollywood just can't seem to take a step forward without taking 15 steps back. While Moonlight was awarded Best Picture at this year's Oscars, La La Land accepted the award. Just when we thought we might have actress (and woman) Laura Dern at the helm of The Academy, they hired another white man (who, of course, immediately pledged his commitment to embracing diversity), and even though legendary black actress Viola Davis won Best Actress and Girls Trip is one of the highest-grossing films of the year, there are still no women of color among Forbes' annual list of the highest-paid actresses.
FYI, here's the list:
1. Emma Stone—$26 million
2. Jennifer Aniston—$25.5 million
3. Jennifer Lawrence—$24 million
4. Melissa McCarthy—$18 million
5. Mila Kunis—$15.5 million
6. Emma Watson—$14 million
7. Charlize Theron—$14 million
8. Cate Blanchett—$12 million
9. Julia Roberts—$12 million
10. Amy Adams—$11.5 million
Blinding whiteness. Jennifer Lawrence topped the list for the last two years in a row, now usurped by her good friend Emma Stone and Jennifer Aniston, who has several endorsement deals.
Forbes says that the overwhelmingly white list comes down to role statistics — with only 28.3% of speaking roles going to underrepresented racial/ethnic groups.
"...there are simply fewer characters—and fewer high-paying roles—written for women of color," associate editor Natalie Robehmed writes. "When studios, directors and screenwriters begin creating more main characters for women of color in the types of big budget movies that pay huge upfront fees and backend profits, we'll see more actors of color on the list."
Tell me again how you're confronting your diversity issues head-on, Hollywood.
[h/t
Harper's Bazaar]
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