WITW L.A. Salon: Viola Davis on being told she's 'a black Meryl Streep'
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- Опубліковано 13 лют 2018
- Tina Brown hosted an inspiring group of women for a night of engaging conversation live from Neuehouse Hollywood on Sunset Boulevard. Closing the show was award-winning actress Viola Davis who discussed her humble upbringing and and working in Hollywood as a woman of color.
This is 100% real talks! Viola let 'em know! Im pretty sure 70% of those people in the room never even thought about what she just said until she said it.
Still didn’t care after I’m sure
100% fake. Viola just doesn't know how Hollywood works. Her accolades mean nothing to the studios because they cant use that as an income gauge. She is a black actress and as a double minority she will have less opportunities. I know she doesn't like that but we can't change reality.
She's not afraid to say that she can be compared to other great actresses because it's simply true. It's not even being modest or bragging, since the time is up to talk about gender inequality it's FUNDAMENTAL to talk about intersectionality too. So much respect
I'm convinced the impression of her friend is also her impression of Liza Manelli
Not true, Meryl and her doesn’t have the same path, Meryl started her movie career (late 70s) way prior than hers (late 90s), Meryl won her first Oscar in 1980 and she won hers in 2016, so her comparing herself to Meryl or Sigourney is like comparing Jennifer Hudson to Aretha Franklin or Diana Ross
Her problem is that she is not selling tickets at the elite level. Being A list is more about box office bankability than acting ability. You can be an average actor and be in the A list. Arnold Schwarzenegger is such an actor.
I was literally discussing this same exact topic with someone. How black actresses aren't given EQUAL opportunities let aside equal pay!! Halle Berry is never offered as interesting and abundant roles as Julia Roberts, Same goes for Lupita Nyongo who is literally isn't being offered 1/10th the roles offered to Jennifer Lawerence, even though she won an Oscar as well. It's just not fair. Whether it's because producers aren't interested in giving parts to black women, or whether it's because writers aren't invested in telling stories of people of color, it remains a bitter reality..
I don't really understand the Julia Roberts and Halle Berry comparison. Halle Berry has done quite well. One might ever say some of her roles are more versatile than Julia Roberts career. Jennifer Lawrence is a crappy actress. However, the roles that she usually plays are intended for white women. Just as the same role that Lupita Nyongo played in that made her famous was intended for black women. I would say that your statement about writers not invested in telling stories of people of color to be the truest thing in your comment.
Viola is wrong tough. She isn't a surgeon, a specialist she is just an actress. In her line of work you value how much you bring in sales. Same with music. I think we can all agree there's many artists that can sing better and have better music than Katy Perry, Beyonce or Taylor Swift and yet they get more money because they have a larger audience. Look at Ava Green, Viola or Meryl, they all are payed less than J Law yet they likely way more talented, but J Law was in a incredibly successful franchising. Signore Weaver is one of the producers of Alien , is where her money comes from, so .... you need to think about those things before saying a bunch of stupid things. If you want to be payed by experience, talent and awards go be a doctor, a architect or a engineer, or even doing indie films being a celeb-actress requesting millions is all about popularity and bringing in endorsements and sales
Sorry not sorry, but that's a bullshit argument! She's bringing in numbers, clicks and views when people see Viola Davis name is on the marquee. But she's being paid way less than other white women who are doing and have done less than she has, that's what she's talking about. If you don't get it, fine, but stop bullshitting yourself and us into buying what you're selling. She knows her industry and what numbers look like a helluva better then you do.
Then tell the non-white actors to quit acting in movies produced by white people. They don't seem to have a problem taking the money.
Mo'Nique too..?
Say it louder for the folks in the back! 🙌🏾
Viola is wrong tough. She isn't a surgeon, a specialist she is just an actress. In her line of work you value how much you bring in sales. Same with music. I think we can all agree there's many artists that can sing better and have better music than Katy Perry, Beyonce or Taylor Swift and yet they get more money because they have a larger audience. Look at Ava Green, Viola or Meryl, they all are payed less than J Law yet they likely way more talented, but J Law was in a incredibly successful franchising. Signore Weaver is one of the producers of Alien , is where her money comes from, so .... you need to think about those things before saying a bunch of stupid things. If you want to be payed by experience, talent and awards go be a doctor, a architect or a engineer, or even doing indie films being a celeb-actress requesting millions is all about popularity and bringing in endorsements and sales
politiks Brasil sorry but she's right across all industries. Please research it, the facts are out there. Also for Beyonce to be as big as Taylor Swift she has to cross over into pop music and look a certain way. The same thing that happened to Whitney Houston. To get more money for not only being a woman but a woman of color salaries are not equal.
*black
@@politiksispoker2362 did you watch the whole thing?
They studio executives call her and quote "The Black meryl streep" and yet they don't pay her as meryl
Mark Walkberg doesn't have a huge box office hit since transformers, and yet they paid 10.000 dollars for repeating his scenes with a different actor, in comparison of Michelle williams
It's a racial pay gap and a gender gap
Whoop there it is...
What a woman, what a actress - phenomenal Viola!
I love hearing her say this. Our society has taught women to value humility so much they're afraid to demand what they're worth. Hearing about Octavia Spencer's case made me so angry. I hope to see more black women do this
What happened to Octavia Spencer?
They don't have the star power and box office receipts to demand higher wages. Every actor gets paid their worth because the work is contractual. The A list is not suppose to be easy to get in. You have to compete and can still end up failing. Unfortunately for black actresses the work that's in demand will be black characters in black movies. Those movies are targeted towards the black minority of black people or even worse only black women which are a double minority. You can't compare them to white actors doing white characters. White people have way more potential people to sell their movie to and have more disposable income on average making it easier to reach blockbuster status.
By Viola leading a film you have no assurance of getting your money back. So a smart business man is not going to give her millions or a million for a better shot at getting his money back.
Unfortunately, she is right.
@@camara1194 she is along with the gender gap there's a race gap. Even if men get paid more, white men make more than black.
@@camara1194 I definitely do
@@tia4057 Explain Will Smith then.
@@saintejeannedarc9460 I guarantee he doesn't make as much as Brad Pitt or Leonardo Decaprio.
@@tia4057 You'd be wrong on that. I knew from years ago that Will Smith was near top of the list for highest paid actors. Going by Wealthy Gorilla for all 3: Will Smith net worth, $350 million/ Brad Pitt $300 million/ Leonardo Dicaprio $260.
Sooo I know Monique’s situation is a lot more complicated and she doesn’t need to ask for people to boycott Netflix. She burned some bridges.
However this is basically what she was saying. It’s was so simple. If you say Monique is a legend pay me what I’m worth. If you say I’m the black Meryl Streep, pay me what I’m worth.
Voila speak the truth about struggles of a black actress.
She speaks truth! I’m an engineer and a scientist. I’m also a woman of color. I’m having the same issues in my field that Ms. Davis is having in her field. That’s why I love Ms. Davis for exposing the issues that we have as women of color.
I'm an engineer too and I agree
All my support here, as a white woman engineer. Wish you justice, and I wish to us the same that men get.
She’s a great actress no doubt, but her comparing herself with Meryl or Sigourney is like comparing Jennifer Hudson with Whitney Houston or Diana Ross
@@Patricia-fh5xr This is why women competitively joining the workforce is problematic. Y'all don't want to compete as fiercely as men. You can't want to occupy the space and redefine your own rules. You are looking at his end result but not looking at all the work had to do to get to that elite spot. There are men who also make less or got beaten by better men and they are holding scraps.
She's not speaking the truth. She may be an actor but she has no idea how Hollywood works. All studios care about is the box office draw. None of the awards she listed means anything to studios because they have nothing to do with it. A list actors have to have a track record of 9 figure success as lead actors to get the millions in success she wants. Unfortunately Hollywood is inherently hostile to black actors and especially black actresses. It's not a conspiracy but because your general roles and general supporters share your color the fact that black women are a double minority hurts black actresses. White actors have the highest gross potential on average because they have largest consumer base. That also gives their content priority because it is the most assured path to profitablity. She's measuring herself with a white barometer of success and not a black one.
Damn, I'd give her an Oscar, Emmy, and any other award for this interview.
I get goosebumps whenever I listen to Viola Davis. What a woman!
I’ve said this since the first time I saw her, if she was white, with that talent, she would have the best roles, every award in the lead category and would be earning millions and millions. Black girls gotta be twice as good to earn half.
lol have you been watching scandal
Ima call her Pastor Davis now, PREACH!
I'm a white male & to me, Viola Davis is the best actress out there. I was floored with her performance throughout HTGAWM!! A treasure to the TV & film industry!
1:16 the fact that interview thought that viola meant that as a joke 💔 just show how hard is for people to relate to other ethnicities hardship and experiences
People in the comments calling her delusional, have you seen her work? Do you live in this world? This issue is out there, get away from your computer and get a grasp of reality, people of color have it way tougher, way less opportunities. Love that she speaks her truth.
She’s a great actress for sure but her comparing herself with Meryl or Sigourney is like comparing Jennifer Hudson with Whitney Houston or Diana Ross
@@NL-tr7ixthat’s a joke right. Sigourney has never even won an Oscar smh. Viola Davis awards triple Sigourney Weaver’s in less time. Now Meryl has 3 Oscar’s that’s what she has over Viola. But Viola has won every award under the sun. So yes she should be in their category because the awards she has says so. Because she’s won everything and you can’t do that without commanding an audience at the box office.
@@rogambrell2896 Jennifer Hudson has won every award and even became an EGOT which Whitney Houston and Diana Ross have never achieved, but Jennifer Hudson is not on their level still because of her seniority compared to the two
@@NL-tr7ix the difference is Jennifer is not on their level talent wise or career wise as far as commanding an audience. Viola’s talent is on their level. This is coming from Meryl as well. We all know Meryl isn’t shy about giving her opinion. Viola commands an audience in movies as well as television. Now if you were speaking on Taraji P Henson I would agree but Viola is at the very top regardless of seniority.
A Black Meryl Streep? Viola Davis is The Best Actress on the planet! Period!
Look Viola is an amazing actress in her own unique way. This is not about racism or anything but meryl streep is a living legend, she IS the best actress on the planet and it has nothing to do with her being white. its just a fact. Meryl streep will be remembered as the best actress of her generation.
But Sigourney Weaver...Julianne Moore? It's racism!!!
Mighty Quinn ❤️❤️❤️
Viola is just an OVERRATED ACTRESS. Why? bcoz her acting is hysterical. Shouting and screaming thats the way she always acts. Shes not versatile. Shes a one dimensional actress.
For me Nora Aunor is the greatest actress in the world. Why? bcoz she can act SILENTLY through her EXPRESSIVE EYES only without uttering a word.
Case closed Period.
@Evangeline Hortense I wonder if we talk about the same Viola Davis, because I was just about to say that her acting alone through her eyes is excellent already, Meryl Streep said it herself. In a scene with no words, she writes paragraphs with her eyes. Don't you think her acting is quite "One dimensional" because of the one dimensional roles she's getting? She was just thematising it in this segment of the interview...
I’ll stand with you Ms Davis any day!!! You’re an inspiration and a beautiful person in and out, a fantastic actress and most importantly a woman with class and dignity with the accolades to prove it
The business she is in does not reward academic achievement! The amount of money an actor or actress is paid is determined, by a large extent , by the amount of people that show up at the box office to pay and see her movies. That is not racist or unfair....it is business. I love Viola Davis as well as Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and everybody else...... The movie business is very risky and if I was seeking to make a handsome return on my investment....I would have to choose people that have demonstrated that they can get the crowd out to pay for and watch the movies they star in. That is just business of the the factual order!! Racism it is not!!
She is speaking nothing but the TRUTH!!! I can listen to Viola and Cisely Tyson all day articulating this issue.👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
The business she is in does not reward academic achievement! The amount of money an actor or actress is paid is determined, by a large extent , by the amount of people that show up at the box office to pay and see her movies. That is not racist or unfair....it is business. I love Viola Davis as well as Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and everybody else...... The movie business is very risky and if I was seeking to make a handsome return on my investment....I would have to choose people that have demonstrated that they can get the crowd out to pay for and watch the movies they star in. That is just business of the the factual order!! Racism it is not!!
Preach Viola! Preach!
I LOVE this actress and totally understand what she is talking about!
She is speaking TRUTH & FACTS!
Viola Davis is by far one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood. Her performance in the help. LIFE CHANGING ABSOULTELY BRILLIANT. SHE THEN ONCE AGAIN HIT THE NAIL WITH FENCES TOO. SO YES SHE SHOULD BE PAID HER WORTH. AND YES WE SHOULD LOOK TO HAVE MORE PPL OF COLOUR ( not just blacks but asians hispanics Europeans middle easterns). She does so her job as an actress if she’s not being paid Atleast 95% of Meryl Streep we need to fix it. I stand with viola. Love you from Australia
Love her.
I adore this woman as an actress,the small part she had in "get on up " made me a believer, she is simply awesome,it's scary how good she is you forget she acting,my goodness!!!!!!
This is so touching so real. She lives that in Hollywood and minorities live it in their regular jobs, big corporations where this is so real and so unfair. I’m speaking for myself as a Latina. I know many people from the minority groups totally relate.
Viola, may the ancestral spirits that have been with you continue to bless and keep you. Keep speaking TRUTH. We need you🔥🪘 And we love you 🔥🪘🙌🏿💜
This speaks volumes it’s beyond true and factual! Even in 2021 someone like Jennifer Lawrence gets paid triple viola Davis would ever get paid and I’m sure the resume can’t compare
Exactly what Monique is saying with gender and race inequality gap and people want to call her too irrelevant to demand a hefty pay check! Here is Viola telling us she is number 1 on the call sheet and still doesn’t get the amount of money her counterparts get. So glad this came out after Monique, people can’t call her crazy after watching this.
So inspirational. Making history speaking up.
I hope to look back on this one day when things are different, for the better.
Mo’Nique says hi 👋
🤵🏾
Yes! Claim your greatness and demand the recognition you deserve, Ms. Davis! She is a force!
What a hugely admirable woman. So intelligent.
I will listen to her for as long as she keeps talking. People need to hear it.
To me & many ppl I know, Mrs.Viola Davis is the best actor period!She should be called Meryl& she should have equal roles& pay!
YAAAAAAAAASSS QUEEEEN! SLAY!!!!
Omg! I love Viola Davis! I enjoy listening to her.
I DID NOT NO VIOLA WAS LIKE THIS WOW 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿IM SPEECHLESS
Truthful, powerful and authentic. Always. The regal Viola.
This queen. No words. She is phenomenal
Im glad she's speaking up
she is genius!
love love love her.
yas iconic queen black girl magic slay mama
Viola and Monique are basically saying the same thing! Yet people are so quick to attack Monique? They both are right! It's time to start paying black women what they are worth!
So true Viola….we have similar problem here in Jamaica as it relates to not being paid what you’re worth
InfiniteLove Viola Davis!!!
Post the whole interview, please. Thank you.
I love Viola so much what an amazing actress
Put her RESPECT on her name!!!!!!
Them white ladies in the audience look salty af
Talkindurinthemovie yup . It’s obvious they don’t give a sh** smh
That’s what I’m saying
Well they just had to sit through a multimillionaire Oscar winning actress lecture everyone on how oppressed she is. I'd be pissed off too.
Uauh, tem que ser muito corajosa para dizer tantas realidades nesta entrevista. Devia viralizar, acima de tudo as mesmas oportunidades deviam ser dadas a todas as mulheres. Como é possível ainda haver esta discriminação. Viola obrigada por ter guts e expor tanta verdade!
Amazing! Amen to that Viola! Agree 💯
She is so smart!!! One of the smartest actresses out there, right now!!!
Her net worth is 3 Million.. wow.
Really. I checked and I got 12 million.
3 or 12 million isn’t enough. For the work that she consistently does, she should be worth more.
She works way too hard to worth that little!
🤔🤔🤔
Either way..🤷🏾♂️ she's worth more than that. Comparing to many other actors.
You tell them, Viola! 👸🏾🖤
She has beautiful soul. She is so smart and just the definition of amazing. I love her so much. Viola, I think you are much better actress than all these names you mentioned..
💯 Truth from a legend
We love you too ❤️❤️❤️❤️from india ...your reality is being real inspire all of us ..you ARE the Beautiful black Meryl Streep
Right on Ms.Viola!!!
You are our role model.keep fighting and tell them like it is.
You are a phenomenal, amazing, beautiful, smart woman I have known. 👍🏽
She's absolutely right!
Did not know this.. wow. They don't get equal pay? That's sad. She's a good actress. I love her work. Cate Blanchette is good people. Cate Blanchette did say she wants to do something with Viola Davis and I hope Viola Davis take her up on it. They are powerful women both in the screen and off the screen. I'm gonna keep my finger cross. Love Cate Blanchette and Viola Davis.
I love this.
Viola is a QUEEN 🩷👸🏾
Monique was absolutely right ‼️
She aint lying. I’ve been hearing it for years from the ones on top. Its a shame
Viola is very Likable‼️❤️️
Why did the audience gasp when said she is considered the black Meryl Streep?
I love her so so much!
❤️
TRUTH!🙏🏾❤️😔
This is why I love her.
Viola Davis is a great actress, but I wouldn't call her the black Meryl Streep. There are plenty of white actors and actresses that do great break out roles like Viola did, but still don't get the traction or pay either. Only they don't have a black card to wave around and claim that it's due to. I've seen tons of similar stories from white people. I do understand it's more of a white market, because if it's based on a true story or comic, the way many movies are, it's likely going to require a white actor and black only roles are more of a niche market. Any white actor will have that same issue if they go to a majority black country too. It's not about discrimination, it's about the market.
This is almost what Monique is talking about
Yup..
Not almost, exactly. For so long our sisters have been at the bottom of the food chain and I'm glad they are taking a stand. We should all get behind them and do whatever to help them - even if it does mean boycotting Netflix. There is power in black money!
She's amazing
I watched her in how to get away with murder and I was hooked she is an amazing actress
PreeeeeAch On #Wakanda
I just ❤️ her!
She is saying the same thing that Monique saying
She should not be known as "the black Merly Streep" she should be known as Viola Davis
Viola Davis is an accomplish actress since I saw act in judging Amy that espidoe wow and then law and order Criminal intent she is gifted
People see this woman's worth... but the system is so damn skewed.
Teach
Spitting nothing but truth
Please preach
That’s terrible Viola should be paid the same as her contemporaries!! Shame on you Hollywood
The business she is in does not reward academic achievement! The amount of money an actor or actress is paid is determined, by a large extent , by the amount of people that show up at the box office to pay and see her movies. That is not racist or unfair....it is business. I love Viola Davis as well as Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and everybody else...... The movie business is very risky and if I was seeking to make a handsome return on my investment....I would have to choose people that have demonstrated that they can get the crowd out to pay for and watch the movies they star in. That is just business of the the factual order!! Racism it is not!!
#boss
Speak it huntyyyyyyy
#1 on the call sheet, and making the least in the film.....
Her best work is Denzel Washington’s Fences and the Meryl Streep film Doubt
Is there box office data to support this ?
I love me some Viola Davis
So its okay when viola davis says it.. But when Monique calls it out, she's vindictive and wrong 🤔
Viola is a millionaire. Her complaints about the salaries of actors and actresses are pathetic. It really shows the mindset of humanity in the bigger scope of things. I never really liked Monique but she has more credibility about this type of thing than Viola Davis does. Monique won an Oscar too and I am sure she had to hustle a hell of a lot more than Viola does.
DaeTime TV What box office hits has Mo'Nique had? Name 3 films that were a hit at the box office where Mo'Nique was top billed. I'll wait. Mo'Nique was a straight to dvd actress who did Precious and we have not seen her after that for damn near a decade. Mo'Nique does not have the resume to back up her claims. Viola does.
The resume? She has an Oscar. Also, she has more credibility about what she says than Viola does. Monique ain't taking home no millions of dollars. How much money do these celebrities need? Millions of dollars for making a movie? I'm on board with that as long as we pay our teachers the same amount of money.
Céhad Dunebuggy All Mo'Nique has is the Oscar from ONE film. Viola has TWO tonys, an Emmy AND the Oscar. The only thing missing is a grammy, and she'll be an EGOT (the only Black woman EGOT is miss Goldberg.) And, yes, these actors deserve millions for films. The studios make BILLIONS, so the actors should get a piece of the pie. Mo'Nique does not deserve millions because what films has she done where she was the main attraction and it garnered critical acclaim, or it was a box office success. Viola has been in huge hits AND critical darlings. Mo'Nique ONLY has Precious. Viola has been in 5 films that have crossed the 100 million dollar mark.
Well, I guess we have different opinions on who is right. Regardless of Viola's resume, Monique had every right to share her opinion. I guess if Viola ain't happy with what she is being paid then she can quit making movies until she gets paid what she thinks she should be paid. Also, what does Whoopi have to do with anything? My original post cited how pathetic it was that millionaires were complaining about their pay injustice.
She is my favourite actress of all times.
But it is all about the money in this business. People get what they are worth regarding on how many people will go to see the movie, unfortunately it is not about their talent. Then there are other factors. Some will change over time (?) - like the preference of your own race/ethnic group is too complex to discuss here. But to sum it up: 3-month-olds (not newborns) prefer their own race when looking at faces of different races, it's universal and kinda logical. I personally think it has a lot to do with familiarity (linked with aesthetic experience).
So this might be the starting point for racial issues - of course it is much more complicated and it depends on how children are raised, on how open-minded they are and what they experience, if they are able to think critically all the time, even when it means changing their own beliefs and ideologies and so on. But I think if parents show their infants how full of talent this world is. Films, music, art in general. Showing your children how there are such beautiful songs or films in this world - people will change for the better, feeling empathy towards anyone.
Let us see behind the colour of a human being because there is so much more, no human is alike even if they have the same colour, everyone has their own story. But the true beauty is that we all feel the same.
Ms. Viola's not havin' it today, no ma'am!!!
love kriss jenner she so talented 2..
Exactly - Female AND Black ? Not a chance you will get what you are really worth which is the gold standard. Solid gold.
Once again this is still relevant today, why? Fix it!!! And I don’t mean us ✊🏾, we’ve done enough
would be good if there were more black women in the audience. I know it's L.A. but still.
them half hearted claps, them people don't care.
I notice a lot of people saying Viola is saying the same thing as Monique. Here's the difference Monique isn't getting the calls and negotiations that Viola is getting. And, MOST IMPORTANTLY, Viola isn't calling for a boycott. You shouldn't be calling for those unless you have leverage and a strategy/benefit resulting for the masses. She is merely highlighting an issue that exists in the entertainment industry-- not "complaining". No shade to Monique but this is a slightly different conversation... Do yourselves a favor, and watch this interview (ignoring the interviewer who is pretty oblivious) in its full version and see how differently Viola lays the groundwork for the talking points than Monique.