Is Coco Jones Right About Hollywood’s Treatment of Dark-Skinned Black Women?

Actress/singer Coco Jones really hit her stride in 2023. Her hit single “ICU” led her to four Grammy nominations, including Best New Artist. As she reflects on her breakout year in an interview with People, the “Bel Air” star discussed some of the changes she’s seen in the industry since she embarked on her journey.

Jones got her start on Disney projects like “So Random!” and “Good Luck Charlie.” She admits that she was “sheltered and a little naive to the entertainment business.” However, as she got older and left the Disney bubble, the “What I Didn’t Tell You” artist found it difficult to find roles.

“I definitely feel like the industry for dark-skinned Black women has gotten better and better, especially since I was a young girl,” Jones said. “And I think the more storylines and the more positions of power that are told from a woman of color’s perspective, the more opportunities [there are] for women to play those roles and to hire women that would understand those storylines.”

The success and popularity of actresses like Viola Davis, Danai Gurira and Jodie Turner-Smith certainly makes it seem like Hollywood is moving in the right direction. However, both Viola, and director Gina Prince-Bythewood, were open about the struggles they faced as they made “The Woman King.” The EGOT winner is well aware that studios aren’t lining up to make blockbusters centered around Black women.

“When have I ever seen anything like ‘Woman King?’ Not just with me in it, but with anyone who looks like me in it?,” she said in Variety’s Actors on Actors. “What studio is going to put money behind it? How are they going to be convinced that Black women can lead a global box office? So, yeah, I said, ‘That’s not going to happen, because you don’t see it.’”

Jones is not wrong that opportunities have improved for Black actresses. There was a time when we never could’ve seen movies like “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “The Woman King” and “The Color Purple” all released within a year of one another. However, Taraji P. Henson’s recent comments about the pay gap Black actresses still face, and the wide support she received from her colleagues, shows that there’s still plenty of work to be done.

Everytime issues like these start making headlines, we feel like it’s a turning point in the industry, but then the hoopla dies down and it’s business as usual. Considering the disrespect Black women in Hollywood have faced over the years, we need to make sure that these issues don’t get pushed to the back burner this time.