Denzel Washington Says Colorism Doesn’t Hold Blacks Back

Is colorism still a major problem in 2016?

Denzel Washington recently talked about the ongoing light skinned vs. dark skinned debate in Hollywood. The prolific actor says ‘Fences’ costar Viola Davis is proof that colorism isn’t a real reason why African-Americans can’t achieve their endeavors reports BET.

Asked if colorism holds dark-skinned actors and actresses back in show business, Denzel replies, “One of the best roles for a woman of any color in the last, in a good while or at least any movie that I’ve been in, a dark-skinned woman has in this film. So as long as you’re being lead by outside forces or just being reactionary then you won’t move forward. You have to continue to get better.”

Washington adds that people who blame colorism for their lack of success may have a bigger problem…

“You can say, ‘Oh I didn’t get the part because they gave it to the light-skinned girl, or you can work, and one day, it might take twenty years, and you can be Viola.” He continues, “The easiest thing to do is to blame someone else, the system. Yeah, well, there’s a possibility, maybe, that you’re not good enough, but it’s easy to say it’s someone else’s fault. But there’s a possibility that you’re not ready and you can still blame it on someone else instead of getting ready.”

Do you think Denzel is right about colorism? Sound off in the comment section below.

Fences/THR