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Earlier this year at the Golden Globes, Regina King graciously accepted the Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture award for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk. The iconic actress used her acceptance speech as a platform to shed light on gender equality in Hollywood, vowing to staff all of her future productions with 50 percent women.
“I’m going to use my platform right now to say, in the next two years, I am making a vow—and it’s going to be tough—to make sure that everything that I produce [is going to be] 50 percent women, and I just challenge anyone out there who is in a position of power, not just in our industry [but] in all industries, I challenge you to challenge yourselves and stand with us in solidarity and do the same,” she said.
King says that she’s still very much committed to her promise, but people need to be more realistic with their expectations and give her time to actually do the work.
“Have you seen an announcement of me producing something yet?” is a question that King tells Marie Claire that she finds herself constantly asking when journalists question her about the vow.
According to King, the speech was only a few months ago and she doesn’t have access to the same resources as her white counterparts, therefore folks need to cool it and give her a minute to work her magic. She adds that this is a double standard that often surfaces when it comes to women of color in the workplace.
“That speech was six months ago. Goddamn…I’m held to account. Not having as many of the opportunities or resources as a white man or a white woman in the industry, but now that I’m the one that’s decided to say that I’m going to use what I’ve been given to do more, it needs to have been done yesterday?” she asked.
We feel you girl.
