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In 2019, Regina King made a speech at the Golden Globes, as she was accepting her award for Best Supporting Actress in If Beale Street Could Talk.
The speech became legendary because of the promises King made during it. She told the audience of industry professionals and everyone watching at home that going forward,
“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.
Now, almost two years later, King has expanded that promise to reflect more inclusivity. During a recent interview with Insider, King shared that they weren’t able to accomplish her goal of 50% women for her upcoming Amazon Prime film One Night in Miami—though she said it wasn’t for lack of trying.
But she’s not discouraged. In fact, King is determined to push the vow a bit further.
“What we were able to accomplish was that well over 50% of our crew were people that did not identify as cis white male[s],” she emphasized.
King shared that she’s evolved since that initial speech and she understands gender is a non-binary construct now.
“From the moment of me making that proclamation, if you will, to us actually shooting [‘One Night in Miami’] it’s not respectful to regard everything as male or female,” she said. “So moving forward, as I do still feel having more women in positions behind the camera is important, I have to go beyond that.”
And now that she’s knows better, she plans on doing better.
“[It’s] a challenge I will continue to try to achieve, even as I make adjustments to what that challenge actually is.”
