Kerry Washington: Not Only Are #OscarsSoWhite, but So Is Every Industry

Actors Kerry Washington and Aziz Ansari had a candid (well, as candid as one can be in front of an audience) conversation Friday for the fourth season of Variety and PBS’ 0Actors on Actors series Friday.The two actors of color discussed diversity in television and the possible reasons that the medium is more diverse than…

Actors Kerry Washington and Aziz Ansari had a candid (well, as candid as one can be in front of an audience) conversation Friday for the fourth season of Variety and PBS’ 0Actors on Actors series Friday.

The two actors of color discussed diversity in television and the possible reasons that the medium is more diverse than film.

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β€œI don’t know,” said Ansari. β€œIf I had to guess, I feel like there’s more diverse creators [on TV].”

Both actors are stars of their own TV vehiclesβ€”Washington on ABC’s Scandal and HBO’s Confirmation, and Ansari, formerly of Β NBC’sΒ Parks and Recreation fame, now on Netflix’s Master of None.

β€œOur show, it’s an Indian guy, Asian guy, so there’s going to be more Indian people, Asian people. We have a diverse group of friends and we didn’t even really think about it, when we were making the show, that β€˜Oh, this is diverse.’ We were just like, β€˜This feels real,’” says Ansari.

The two also talked about the #OscarsSoWhite controversy specifically and the fact that, in general, Hollywood is probably no more β€œwhite” than other industries.

β€œI saw this chart in the New York Times about like decision-makersβ€”the gatekeepers in every single industryβ€”and it was, like, all white people,” said Ansari.

β€œIt came out after β€˜Oscars So White,’ and I loved that they did it because there was all this attention on Hollywood, but it was like, no, no, no, every industry is so white,” Washington added.

A caveat to that may be that Hollywood produces images and therefore has more power to shape narratives, but that’s a whole other conversation (and one that I'm not in!).

The two-part fourth-season premiere of Variety Studio: Actors on ActorsΒ airs in June onΒ PBS. Check your local listings.

Read more at Variety.

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