Hollywood not truthful about people of color, Halle Berry says
Halle Berry said Hollywood’s lack of diversity stems from a lack of honesty. Filmmakers and actors should tell the truth, she said, “and the films, I think, that are coming out of Hollywood aren’t truthful.”
“The reason they’re not truthful these days is they aren’t really depicting the importance and the involvement and the participation of people of color in our American culture,” Berry said, addressing the film academy’s diversity controversy publicly for the first time.
She made the remarks Tuesday during an onstage conversation with her agent, Kevin Huvane, at the Makers Conference, an AOL women’s leadership program.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been facing a diversity crisis since the nominations announced last month revealed a second consecutive year of all-white acting nominees.
Berry is the only black woman to win an Oscar for lead actress, and she said she’s heartbroken her victory for 2001’s “Monster’s Ball” didn’t lead to more women of color being cast in leading roles. But she puts the blame on filmmakers with tunnel vision.
“Our cities are filled with black and brown people. And many times, unfortunately we see films that are set in Chicago, New York, Atlanta – big metropolitan cities – and they’re devoid of people of color,” she said. “So I feel like when we really live up to our responsibility and challenge ourselves to be truthful, and tell the truth in our storytelling, then people of color will be there in a real competitive way, and it won’t be about inclusion or diversity. Because if we’re telling the truth, inclusion and diversity will be a byproduct of the truth.”
The Makers Conference, held at the seaside Terranea Resort in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, continues through Wednesday with such speakers as Gloria Steinem, Sheryl Sandberg and Caitlyn Jenner.
Lady Gaga to sing national anthem at Super Bowl
Lady Gaga is set to sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The NFL told the Associated Press on Tuesday that Gaga will sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, where the Carolina Panthers will take on the Denver Broncos.
Academy Award winning actress Marlee Matlin will perform in American Sign Language during the national anthem.
Super Bowl 50 will air on CBS, and halftime show performers include Coldplay and Beyonce.
Gaga’s upcoming performance during the Super Bowl is another notch in her belt: She won a Golden Globe for her role in “American Horror Story: Hotel” last month and she’s nominated for best original song at the next month’s Academy Awards with “Til It Happens to You,” the song she wrote with Diane Warren for the sexual assault documentary, “The Hunting Ground.” The song is also nominated for a Grammy at the Feb. 15 awards show, where Gaga will pay tribute to David Bowie with a performance.
Last year, Gaga wowed audiences at the Oscars when she paid tribute to “The Sound of Music” with a show-stopping performance. She won her sixth Grammy for her collaborative jazz album with Tony Bennett, and she was named woman of the year by Billboard.
Tony-winning actress and “Let It Go” singer Idina Menzel sang the national anthem at last year’s Super Bowl.
The birthday bunch
Comedian Shelley Berman is 91. Actress Bridget Hanley is 75. Actress Blythe Danner is 73. Actress Morgan Fairchild is 66. Actor Morgan Fairchild is 60. Actress Michele Greene is 54. Actress Maura Tierney is 51. Actor Warwick Davis is 46. Human rights activist Amal Alamuddin Clooney is 38. Actor Matthew Moy is 32. Actress Rebel Wilson is 30. Rapper Sean Kingston is 26.