Hello and thank you for being a DL contributor. We are changing the login scheme for contributors for simpler login and to better support using multiple devices. Please click here to update your account with a username and password.

Hello. Some features on this site require registration. Please click here to register for free.

Hello and thank you for registering. Please complete the process by verifying your email address. If you can't find the email you can resend it here.

Hello. Some features on this site require a subscription. Please click here to get full access and no ads for $1.99 or less per month.

Viola Davis Says Julliard Tried to Shape Her Into a ‘Perfect White Actress'

"Definitely a perfect white actress," Davis said. "What it looks like...it's technical training in order to deal with the classics—the Strindbergs, and the O'Neills, and the Chekhovs, and the Shakespeares. I totally understand that. … But what it denies is the human being behind all of that."

"I feel that as a Black actress, I'm always being tasked to show that I have range, by doing white work. So, if I can master Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams's A Streetcar Named Desire—I can do the best I can with Tennessee Williams, but he writes for fragile, white women," she added. "Beautiful work, but it's not me."

Davis explained that such “parameters” were placed on her and not her classmates—and she was never taught classics by Black writers.

"So for those four years at Juilliard, all those white actors have to do is play all white characters. That's not me," she said. "Me, I'm tasked to only do the classics, and no Black writer is included in those classics."

Davis added that when she left Julliard, her performances shifted "Most of what I'll be asked to do are Black characters, which people will not feel I am Black enough," she said. "So then I'm caught in a quagmire, this sort of in between place, of sort of not understanding how to use myself as the canvas."

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 265June 4, 2025 12:27 AM

Here is an excerpt from the podcast.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 1May 30, 2025 4:30 AM

Poor Viola.

by Anonymousreply 2May 30, 2025 4:32 AM

She uses the words I, I'm, me, myself 12 times in those 3 paragraphs.

It's all about HER, HER, HER!

by Anonymousreply 3May 30, 2025 4:43 AM

I get itchy just looking at her hair.

by Anonymousreply 4May 30, 2025 4:43 AM

Those earrings could get her caught on something.

by Anonymousreply 5May 30, 2025 4:48 AM

Then give back the degree. 🙄

by Anonymousreply 6May 30, 2025 4:52 AM

It's never enough.

by Anonymousreply 7May 30, 2025 4:54 AM

Viola - just a tip: shut the fuck up, nobody cares except you.

by Anonymousreply 8May 30, 2025 5:13 AM

Gawd this interbiew made me hate Viola Davis more than I did!

Simply ATTENDING Juilliard is about THE WHITEST MOTHER FUCKING THING anyone on earth could do!

Does Viola dismiss Shakespeare as forcing her to be a white actress? Does Viola Davis think black acting students are incapable of refined language in plays? What plays written in English (Viola's first and likely only language) does she yearn to be a black actress in? I guess Juilliard was a four-year micro-aggression against her? Apparently her real victimization was receiving an expensive, ultra-elite arts education seemingly against her will, only to be cast in prestige projects and make 5 million bucks a year on a crappy network tv show. Why she's practically a modern day share cropper!

Suzan-Lori Parks had her start and early support at Mount Holyoke (under the radar HCBU?) and has had multiple plays on Broadway, but she's never come close to writing a role for Viola Davis. Maybe it was all her white actress training?

by Anonymousreply 9May 30, 2025 5:17 AM

Who taught her that snot drip thing she does?

by Anonymousreply 10May 30, 2025 5:22 AM

There is nothing wrong with what she is saying here, and fuck any BLATANT racist who either takes exception to these statements or tries to paint them as extreme. She is saying very reasonable things.

by Anonymousreply 11May 30, 2025 5:22 AM

It sounds like she's been racially microaggressed! Were her teachers aware they were rooted in privilege??

by Anonymousreply 12May 30, 2025 5:23 AM

I’m actually torn by her comments because I understand diversity and exposing people to black and other storytelling.

But non black people can’t play black roles. Anyone can play Lady Macbeth. A lot of white roles are open to everyone so when she says she was made to be the perfect white actress, I don’t understand it.

As an actress, she has one style, even as a producer and picking roles and scripts. She’s done all sorts of characters in the last 10 years and they’re all Viola Davis being Viola Davis.

by Anonymousreply 13May 30, 2025 5:23 AM

I heard that the only person in NYC that Marian Seldes never kissed while saying "Bless you!" was Viola Davis.

When pressed for an explanation, Miss Seldes replied "Ain't nobody got time for that".

by Anonymousreply 14May 30, 2025 5:26 AM

If she finds the whole “being a Black actress” thing so torturous maybe she could either rest on her laurels, retire (amid much fanfare, obvs) and live a quiet life on her investments, or, failing that, find another fucking job.

I’m sure that the 99% of Black actresses scratching for good roles will sympathize with her dreadful plight.

by Anonymousreply 15May 30, 2025 5:29 AM

Did you know that the only person to win a SAG award twice and then lose the Oscar is Viola?

How do I put that on Wikipedia. Mamie? Marty? How does the Wikipedia work?

by Anonymousreply 16May 30, 2025 5:32 AM

R11 Quincy Jones was a classically trained musician. He had a Eurocentric based education of music and is one of the most innovative pioneering black producers of all time who contributed so much to black music and black culture.

Cause he went where the black culture was. Viola has always gone for white films and TV and recently tried to make black cinema to white markets.

Viola Davis chose white systems as her path to success. She built her career in prestige white-centered narratives. She rarely worked with Black directors in the first two decades of her career, even when Black cinema was thriving in the indie or urban space (like John Singleton, the Hughes Brothers, Gina Prince-Bythewood in her early days).

Her tone and messaging is aimed at gaining respect within white institutions - her focus on Emmys, Oscars, Juilliard, and legacy status in white mainstream media.

She did not participate in Black cinema movements that were bubbling in the 90s/early 2000s, like the rise of urban dramas or even early Tyler Perry.

Viola Davis made a deliberate choice to aspire toward white-centric prestige cinema instead of aligning herself with Black cinema traditions earlier in her career.

She could have had a real career 30-40 years ago but was above black cinema.

That’s the truth.

by Anonymousreply 17May 30, 2025 5:35 AM

Viola Davis: when oppressed turns into permapressed.

by Anonymousreply 18May 30, 2025 5:38 AM

Shut up Viola Davis!

by Anonymousreply 19May 30, 2025 5:40 AM

If she was such a victim of Julliard then why didn't she drop out and go to Spelman? It's an Ivy League college and I'm sure they have acting classes there.

by Anonymousreply 20May 30, 2025 5:51 AM

Julliard failed!

by Anonymousreply 21May 30, 2025 6:00 AM

Deadline- Viola Davis seeks to revive Chit'lin Circuit to prevent black actresses from being forced to attend Juilliard and be shaped into "Perfect White Actresses".

Ms. Davis declared from her home in Hollywood that her upcoming one-woman stage bio of LaWanda Page will be the first fundraiser for her new endeavor.

by Anonymousreply 22May 30, 2025 6:00 AM

[quote]She uses the words I, I'm, me, myself 12 times in those 3 paragraphs. It's all about HER, HER, HER!

She was doing an interview about her acting career and being Black in the industry. Of course it's going to be mostly about herself--the questions are worded that way.

by Anonymousreply 23May 30, 2025 6:01 AM

It's all just non-stop grievances and microaggressions at this point. No wonder Patti's fed up, we all are.

by Anonymousreply 24May 30, 2025 6:06 AM

I’m sure Juilliard trained her to be an actress. I doubt they trained her to be a white actress and that perception is all in her head. Like the agents and producers that told her she is the black Meryl Streep, this never happened.

by Anonymousreply 25May 30, 2025 6:07 AM

Misogynoir!!!

by Anonymousreply 26May 30, 2025 6:07 AM

Barely earned EGOT, multimillionaire and all she does is complain about her hardships. A disgusting human being.

Viola is the most racist bitch in Hollywood.

by Anonymousreply 27May 30, 2025 6:10 AM

There’s nothing more awkward and hilarious than watching Viola attempt to be a glamorous, sexy woman.

She always looks like she’d be happier in her bathrobe in a La-Z-Boy smoking a pack of Benson & Hedges and watching her stories.

Poor, Viola.

by Anonymousreply 28May 30, 2025 6:14 AM

It’s always some Woe Is Me story with her.

So she complains that a premier acting school taught her “white acting”? Then go to a ghetto school instead.

by Anonymousreply 29May 30, 2025 6:16 AM

Viola has compared herself to Meryl Streep, Julianne Moore, and Sigourney Weaver based on they have the same background.

But something tells me a B movie sci-fi horror movie with a first time director in the 1970s and getting naked and playing a porn star would have been beneath her.

And Meryl Streep’s range isn’t just built in skill but saying yes to weird, wild, and unexpected material. She’s played villains, bad mothers, and unstable women.

Viola is right to say she hasn’t had the same opportunities but she also hasn’t pursued or embraced the same kind of risky, out-of-the-box roles that made those other actresses iconic.

by Anonymousreply 30May 30, 2025 6:28 AM

If Viola’s critique is, “The industry never gave me range,” then once she gained power—we should’ve seen her break that mold. But she didn’t.

Even now she has the power of choosing roles, she still plays the same characters. Ma Rainey, Woman King, G20 - all about being the moral center and in control and burdened with responsibility and pain.

So it raises the fair question: Is the lack of range still about the system or about Viola’s own taste, comfort zone, and brand?

by Anonymousreply 31May 30, 2025 6:32 AM

Could she have played Cleopatra? She was meant to be Black African?

by Anonymousreply 32May 30, 2025 6:38 AM

Nope.

While some scholars suggest a possible one-quarter Egyptian heritage, the prevailing view is that Cleopatra was primarily of Greek ancestry.

And she was meant to be beautiful.

by Anonymousreply 33May 30, 2025 6:55 AM

She always seems a bit dykey to me. Is her marriage lavender?

by Anonymousreply 34May 30, 2025 6:59 AM

This is why blacks never advance. Constantly complaining that education is “white” and they won’t do “white work”. Fuck off.

by Anonymousreply 35May 30, 2025 7:01 AM

In that diatribe where she mentions Sigourney, Meryl, and Julianne Moore she says they all came out of the big three drama schools (Julliard, NYU and Yale graduate schools.)

That's not even true Julianne Moore just has a BFA from Boston University. She started out in soap operas. Viola has a much more esteemed education background than Julianne.

And is Sigourney really still A-list? She doesn't seem to work much.

And only her mother called her the black Meryl Streep.

by Anonymousreply 36May 30, 2025 7:22 AM

R35 Black people advance I don’t know what you’re talking about. They’re not at the bottom of education levels in the US by race. And West Virginia is the least educated state in the country and it’s mostly white.

by Anonymousreply 37May 30, 2025 7:53 AM

I can't really see viola as Blanche dubois.

by Anonymousreply 38May 30, 2025 7:53 AM

I think she’s a fabulous actress, but the reductionist identity politics are exhausting.

by Anonymousreply 39May 30, 2025 8:13 AM

that straight bob does her no favors.

by Anonymousreply 40May 30, 2025 8:15 AM

If only Alfre Woodard had a third of the chances VD has had...

by Anonymousreply 41May 30, 2025 8:21 AM

There are some great black playwrights, and I can well believe that their works were never staged at Juilliard. August Wilson, Langston Hughes, Lorraine Newberry, Adrienne Kennedy, Leslie Lee, Ntozake Shange, Samm-Art Williams.

Alfre Woodard and Regina Taylor are both in the league of Viola Davis in my opinion. All very fine actresses.

by Anonymousreply 42May 30, 2025 8:24 AM

[quote]It's all just non-stop grievances and microaggressions at this point. No wonder Patti's fed up, we all are.

It's called black fatigue and it's real.

by Anonymousreply 43May 30, 2025 8:46 AM

She sounds racist. Are you allowed to say that about a black actress?

by Anonymousreply 44May 30, 2025 9:35 AM

r43 As is white fatigue, seen in November. Entirely your choice if you want even more of that going forward. And the numbers are not on your side, that's all I'm gonna say.

by Anonymousreply 45May 30, 2025 11:31 AM

"I can do the best I can with Tennessee Williams, but he writes for fragile, white women," she added. "Beautiful work, but it's not me.""

So many DLers in the thread above attacking her actually agree with her on this. Those DLers are the ones ranting and raving at Audra in GYPSY.

by Anonymousreply 46May 30, 2025 11:34 AM

Why are the most privileged people always the ones who are most miserable and/or complaining about their hardships?

by Anonymousreply 47May 30, 2025 11:37 AM

[quote]Why are the most privileged people always the ones who are most miserable and/or complaining about their hardships?

Because in her mind she’s not privileged. She doesn’t believe a black person can be privileged. Everything to her is endless racial grievances and perpetual victimhood.

by Anonymousreply 48May 30, 2025 11:50 AM

R48: Same thing with Michelle Obama. How much longer can perpetual victimhood be a currency? Tell me this will just be a 2020s thing.

by Anonymousreply 49May 30, 2025 11:59 AM

Spelman is not Ivy League

by Anonymousreply 50May 30, 2025 12:08 PM

She’s a racist pos.

by Anonymousreply 51May 30, 2025 12:38 PM

And sometimes Viola was cinnamon…..

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 52May 30, 2025 12:47 PM

Insufferable. She’d be nowhere without her Julliard training

by Anonymousreply 53May 30, 2025 1:22 PM

This is why Trump won a second term.

by Anonymousreply 54May 30, 2025 1:26 PM

25 years ago I saw a magnificent all-Black "Streetcar" in Denver. That Blanche didn't have any qualms about accepting a "perfect white actress" role, presumably.

by Anonymousreply 55May 30, 2025 1:29 PM

Despite having a career that 99 percent of white actresses and actors would sell their first born to claim - an Oscar (category fraud), Emmy, Tony, Grammy (for narrating her own audiobook; how narcissistic and embarrassing), a hit TV show, acclaimed films, millions of dollars, an education at one of the most prestigious performing arts institutions on earth, and top roles even though she’s an old, ugly bat - Vile-ola can only bitch about what she didn’t have, doesn’t have and potentially won’t have.

Has she ever made a single statement expressing one iota of gratitude for an amazing career beyond most performer’s dreams? Never. She is the fucking most ungrateful bitch. Never a thank you. Always “Where are my awards? You’re racist if I don’t get more of those.”

But it really isn’t about race. It’s what’s in the mirror.

She desperately wants to be a glamorous, gorgeous sexpot and that just isn’t happening. If Vile-ola looked like Angela Bassett, about 75 percent of her complaints would disappear.

And if it wasn’t for race, her bullshit would not be tolerated.

If Michelle Pfeiffer, who has no awards, made one awards-related complaint similar to Vile-ola’s, she’d be castigated as a privileged white woman. The hypocrisy is stunning.

Alas, we’re stuck with Vile-ola’s ugly mug, endless grievances and baseless claims of discrimination for the foreseeable future.

A detestable cunt.

by Anonymousreply 56May 30, 2025 1:36 PM

[quote]She desperately wants to be a glamorous, gorgeous sexpot and that just isn’t happening.

So she wants to be Sharon Stone or Jennifer Lopez. I can guarantee both of those women would rather have Viola’s career and awards.

by Anonymousreply 57May 30, 2025 1:54 PM

Why hasn't Oprah hired her for her biopic? They are like sisters.

by Anonymousreply 58May 30, 2025 2:09 PM

[quote]So she wants to be Sharon Stone or Jennifer Lopez. I can guarantee both of those women would rather have Viola’s career and awards.

I highly doubt that.

by Anonymousreply 59May 30, 2025 2:17 PM

I honestly believe this. Drama schools are focused around training white actors to play their parts. They haven’t a clue how to train black actors

by Anonymousreply 60May 30, 2025 2:18 PM

^ Oh, so helpless. Funny how Asian and Hispanic actors don't care about that shit.

by Anonymousreply 61May 30, 2025 2:20 PM

I always assumed going to Juilliard was a choice.

Poor Viola.

by Anonymousreply 62May 30, 2025 2:35 PM

The work was so beautiful and meaningful, but that ain't ME.

by Anonymousreply 63May 30, 2025 2:38 PM

I stopped watching Joy Reid because I was sick of hearing stuff like this.

As stated above, Tyler Perry would love to hire her, but that’s beneath her. She won her Oscar for an August Wilson project.

This needless bitching becomes divisive. It’s not 2018 anymore.

by Anonymousreply 64May 30, 2025 2:46 PM

She's probably right. Keep in mind, she attended Julliard from 1989-1993. Times were certainly different back then.

by Anonymousreply 65May 30, 2025 3:02 PM

[quote] why didn't she drop out and go to Spelman? It's an Ivy League college

Spelman is not an Ivy League college.

All the Ivy League colleges/universities are in New England, NYC, or NJ. They are: Dartmouth, Cornell, Harvard, Brown, Yale, Columbia, Penn, and Princeton.

by Anonymousreply 66May 30, 2025 3:03 PM

It’s never enough. American black people will never not be self proclaimed victims regardless of what successes they have, regardless of wealth, specialized assistance programs to help, accolades, fame, adoration that transcends race, the high offices of politics or corporate leadership they achieve, the advances they make and contribute to the world…..they will never, ever admit to their own equality and success, unless they want to brag about it.

They’ve pre-programmed themselves to be victims regardless of it all. To black Americans, there will never be anything they didn’t invent, start, create or build that wasn’t taken away from them, no matter what fact or history proves otherwise. To American black people, famous people from antiquity were never any other race but African; white people just scammed you into believing Cleopatra or Jesus Christ didn’t have black skin. The organized conspiracy against them is never ending. And Caucasian people will always be evil, racist cultural appropriators who lurk around every corner to attack or marginalize them.

And ironically, it’s only becoming worse. The younger generation of American black people have been brainwashed into believing they created everything, from Opera to country music, to space technology to the founding of the United States. They did it all, they built it all, they all suffered from it, and they are all still suffering from it, and none of them have ever received credit for it. There will never be any fix, or correction, acknowledgement, award or reparation that will satisfy or make it better. - this is the prevalent belief of black America.

by Anonymousreply 67May 30, 2025 3:08 PM

Too funny that somebody thought Spelman was Ivy League! JFC

by Anonymousreply 68May 30, 2025 3:09 PM

[quote]Viola Davis Says Julliard

Oh, dear.

J-U-I-L-L-I-A-R-D

by Anonymousreply 69May 30, 2025 3:16 PM

In a press release, Juilliard said: "Over those long four years Viola Davis took her place amongst our most unforgettable performers and as a working actress, continues to be."

by Anonymousreply 70May 30, 2025 3:20 PM

In a press release, Spelman College said: "Bitch shoulda come and done her actin' shit here. We woulda treated her right, but she a bougie bitch and gone to Juilliard instead. We see yo' ass, Viola!"

by Anonymousreply 71May 30, 2025 3:27 PM

She has a point. If part of the reason you invest in formal training at a prestigious institution like Juilliard is to set yourself up as a professional working actor, what good does it do a Black student to only be versed in white roles when those aren't the ones they are likely to be cast in? Granted, race-blind casting is normalized now but back then it wasn't (Shakespeare being primary exception). Yeah, mastering Blanche DuBois or Martha will help expand your emotional range and that is necessary training but not the most practical use of your time and money.

by Anonymousreply 72May 30, 2025 3:31 PM

r72, drama school is not "the most practical use of your time and money" for most people.

by Anonymousreply 73May 30, 2025 3:39 PM

Many successful actors never went to college.

by Anonymousreply 74May 30, 2025 3:47 PM

I just can't get past the snot thing. It's too distracting.

by Anonymousreply 75May 30, 2025 3:55 PM

What are you, r75? RACIST?

by Anonymousreply 76May 30, 2025 3:56 PM

Regarding her complaint that she could not bring me to the role she was cast in, someone should remind her that acting isn't just about playing yourself. You're supposed to have the imagination to be someone else, no matter the skin.

by Anonymousreply 77May 30, 2025 3:58 PM

I can say that Ive never seen one thing shes in and now I dont want to . I never heard of her until a few years ago.

by Anonymousreply 78May 30, 2025 4:03 PM

I think the classics went over her head.

by Anonymousreply 79May 30, 2025 4:10 PM

R60 - what about gay actors? Are they training them to play straight parts? And is that offensive to a gay actor?

How would the acting training be different for a black actor than a white actor?

Thousands of actors are rejected by Juilliard and are crushed to not have that experience.

Was there ANY positive professional experience in her life?

It's not just about her being black and talking about it nonstop, it's that normal people are tired of seeing rich, successful people complain. Normal and poor people don't want to hear rich people complain. And no, it's not inspirational - it's just complaining.

White actors have had their share of bad experiences - the acting world SUCKS - it's competitive, unforgiving, capricious. Shut up.

by Anonymousreply 80May 30, 2025 4:39 PM

Always the victim.

by Anonymousreply 81May 30, 2025 4:45 PM

R72 It’s about learning how to act; not memorizing specific roles. Plus, the cachet of that institution alone is beyond valuable.

I can’t imagine being as successful as Viola and continually being aggrieved by what I don’t have instead of feeling grateful for my amazing success.

She’s despicable.

by Anonymousreply 82May 30, 2025 4:49 PM

You’re not a veteran, bitch!

by Anonymousreply 83May 30, 2025 4:50 PM

[quote] getting naked and playing a porn star would have been beneath her.

And an assault to our eyes.

by Anonymousreply 84May 30, 2025 4:55 PM

Since she is a fierce black actress and she has been trained as a white actress ( which seems to really bother her), one way to purge herself of the shame is to return all of the awards and salaries she achieved playing white.

by Anonymousreply 85May 30, 2025 4:57 PM

Michelle Obama has the same grievance attitude. All the resources in the world at her fingertips, yet all she chooses to do with her time is complain.

by Anonymousreply 86May 30, 2025 4:58 PM

Do they train black doctors differently than white ones? Do black accountants learn different techniques than white ones?

Of course not. Saying she requires special writing in roles due to her skin color is a wildly ignorant and racist statement. She should be able to play a toaster if the role requires it.

The fact that Viola wants roles specifically tailored toward her personality and her blackness is beyond disappointing and shows how limited she is as an actress.

Plus, she’s a cunt.

by Anonymousreply 87May 30, 2025 4:59 PM

#violasowhite

by Anonymousreply 88May 30, 2025 5:00 PM

LOL, has anyone watched this?!

[QUOTE] Terrorists take over the G20 summit with President Sutton, bringing her governing and military experience to defend her family, company, and the world.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 89May 30, 2025 5:03 PM

The black population represents 14% of the United States population. Of course the majority of films and television will be told from a white perspective since that’s is the majority. I think the black culture is over represented compared to other minorities…..it’s just never enough for these perpetual victims and never will be.

by Anonymousreply 90May 30, 2025 5:05 PM

We speak her name!

by Anonymousreply 91May 30, 2025 5:05 PM

R89 I turned it off after 30 minutes. The plot holes were so ridiculous and you could see exactly what was going to happen before it did. The budget looked akin to an episode of “Burn Notice.”

Notice how glamorous and gorgeous Vile-ola looks in her evening gown. Men want her and white women want to be her.

But they can’t! She’s suffered enough!

by Anonymousreply 92May 30, 2025 5:07 PM

I don’t know if it was her performance or the awkward lines she was given, but she is the one false note in Soderbergh’s remake of Solaris (2001). It’s a very small cast and the other actors are excellent. I’m not a Clooney fan typically but this is one of my favorite movies.

by Anonymousreply 93May 30, 2025 5:08 PM

I can't even get any roles you bitch!

by Anonymousreply 94May 30, 2025 5:12 PM

Don’t forget Clooney gave Viola a free honeymoon at his Lake Como estate, complete with white servants. You know she loved that.

I bet that poor staff has horror stories to share about Queen Viola.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 95May 30, 2025 5:15 PM

Who says I'm not a gorgeous, glamorous sexpot? That's racist!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 96May 30, 2025 5:21 PM

I love that Viola played the president in that low-rent, garbage streaming movie while the glorious Angels Bassett is playing the president in “Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning,” a real, A-list movie with a real budget that plays in theaters.

You’ll never be as gorgeous or talented as Angela, Viola! Focus on your Shirley Hemphill biopic.

by Anonymousreply 97May 30, 2025 5:23 PM

Viola will always be aggrieved because she did not get Meryl Streep's prestige career and Julia Roberts' box office career combined as she feels she deserved and was denied in favor of white women.

by Anonymousreply 98May 30, 2025 5:30 PM

Film, TV, stage production - they are all an extremely expensive art medium. It's a business. Some great actors have had limited success because of their looks and personality.

Other mediocre actors have had great success because of their looks and personality - both men and women.

There are only so many 'presige' roles and productions being made - the majority of the medium is pure light entertainment with beautiful faces in beautiful houses with beautiful weather and beautiful cars, etc. Escapism sells and it's a formula.

The formula does not change because you want it to. There are thousands of athletes who are just out of the top performers who are outstanding athletes but get ZERO credit or acknowledgement.

Look at ANY professional sports team - there are maybe 1-2 stars who everyone knows their name, but the rest are amazing athletes as well, but never get the product endorsements or other acknowledgement.

She's at the top - stop pissing down on everyone and everything around you. She's very talented and is working - which is more than 99% of very talented actors can say.

by Anonymousreply 99May 30, 2025 5:44 PM

R67 The irony in your post is off the charts. You accuse Black Americans of playing victim while clinging to the fantasy that white people invented everything. That’s especially rich coming from a country that used to lynch Italians and Greeks for being “not white enough.” Now those same groups are magically part of the club of “whites who built civilization”?

Let’s talk about Cleopatra and Jesus. Some Black Americans, not all, have looked to those figures as a way to survive in a society that’s never fully accepted them. It’s no different from how Italian immigrants clung to Christopher Columbus to gain validation in white America. The difference? Italians eventually got their “you’re one of us” pass. Black Americans, despite being here longer than most white families, are still treated like outsiders.

And here’s where your ignorance really shows. Not all Black people think this way. Most aren’t clinging to ancient history—they’ve built one of the most powerful and influential cultures in the world right here in the U.S. From music to language to fashion and social movements, Black Americans created a legacy that doesn’t need to borrow from anyone.

Reclaiming historical figures isn’t delusion. It’s a response to centuries of erasure and whitewashing. That’s not victimhood. That’s survival. That’s resilience. And the fact that you can’t tell the difference says more about you than it does about them.

Surveys have shown that white Americans now believe they are the biggest victims of racism. That delusion is exactly how we ended up with Trump.

by Anonymousreply 100May 30, 2025 5:47 PM

And such a fabulous culture they built R100 . Give me a fucking break .

by Anonymousreply 101May 30, 2025 5:49 PM

[quote]That’s especially rich coming from a country that used to lynch Italians and Greeks for being “not white enough.”

A subset of ignorant rednecks in the Deep South are hardly the whole country.

by Anonymousreply 102May 30, 2025 5:59 PM

[quote]I honestly believe this. Drama schools are focused around training white actors to play their parts. They haven’t a clue how to train black actors

HUH???

In what possible way would the acting training and instruction be any different! Drama school trains students how to ACT, not how to be black! The Juilliard School is quite small, there aren't a lot of students in the program and certainly not enough black students to cast and produce an August Wilson play! While Viola was at Juilliard, August Wilson was one of the biggest commercial playwrights on Broadway and he never would have given them the rights to do a play of his anyway!

You sound completely insane!

by Anonymousreply 103May 30, 2025 6:04 PM

A remarkably tone deaf statement in so many ways.

by Anonymousreply 104May 30, 2025 6:06 PM

[quote]That’s especially rich coming from a country that used to lynch Italians and Greeks for being “not white enough.”

The COUNTRY did not lynch Italians and Greeks for being “not white enough.” What a stupid ass comment.

by Anonymousreply 105May 30, 2025 6:06 PM

[quote]Let’s talk about Cleopatra and Jesus. Some Black Americans, not all, have looked to those figures as a way to survive in a society that’s never fully accepted them.

Cleopatra and Jesus were not black, dear. We know for a fact that Cleopatra was Macedonian Greek, i.e. white.

by Anonymousreply 106May 30, 2025 6:13 PM

[quote]If part of the reason you invest in formal training at a prestigious institution like Juilliard is to set yourself up as a professional working actor, what good does it do a Black student to only be versed in white roles when those aren't the ones they are likely to be cast in?

Uhm, because acting is ACTING! The role doesn't define your skills, the training and process of learning how to examine a script and play a human being different from one's self does!

Oh, the irreparable HARM poor Viola's career has suffered at the lily-white hands of Juilliard! If we could find the list of Viola's fellow graduates, I can guarantee you'd see a list of actors with few awards many of whom you'd never heard of!

by Anonymousreply 107May 30, 2025 6:13 PM

She looks more like Joy Reid with each passing day. And just as insufferable.

by Anonymousreply 108May 30, 2025 6:17 PM

She was saying this shit two years ago.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 109May 30, 2025 6:28 PM

she was accepted into the prestigious Juilliard School, of which she is critical for its crushing white-centrism, its desire to create the “perfect white actor”, “something devoid of joy but steeped in technique”. “There is no set rule to how a character should be played,” she tells me emphatically. “That was my issue with Juilliard. Whatever character I play, I’m not gonna play with the same palette as my white counterparts, because I’m different. My voice is different. Who I am is different. It was like, ‘Your voice is too deep, you’re too hard. So you have to be light, but you have to be light like a 90lb white girl, you can’t be your light.’

“I think that sometimes, everything that you are can crumble under the weight of Eurocentric and white-centric notions. There’s nowhere for someone like me to go – nowhere. I got a wide nose, big lips, dark skin – I mean, where do I go? Look at me – I might as well walk through the doors of Juilliard and walk my ass out!”

by Anonymousreply 110May 30, 2025 6:30 PM

Her Michelle Obama was a master class in bad acting.

by Anonymousreply 111May 30, 2025 6:49 PM

Bitch say what?

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 112May 30, 2025 7:03 PM

She's like Patti LuPone. Despite all her success, she's deeply bitter because she feels entitled to so much more.

by Anonymousreply 113May 30, 2025 7:05 PM

At least Patti is entertaining in her cuntitude.

by Anonymousreply 114May 30, 2025 7:10 PM

Do you think Viola would up for playing Ouisa in Six Degrees Of Separation? That's a nice white lady role she could get her teeth in to.

by Anonymousreply 115May 30, 2025 7:13 PM

It's true. They tried to cast her in White Chicks instead of one of the Wayans Brothers.

by Anonymousreply 116May 30, 2025 7:14 PM

This puts an end to my plan for a race and gender swapped The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone with Viola as Mrs Stone and Dylan Mulvaney as Pauline di Leo in her Broadway debut

by Anonymousreply 117May 30, 2025 7:25 PM

Shut up, Viola.

Of course you can avail yourself of opportunities to play white characters, a fact that does not apply to white actresses for black characters.

Just shut up, you precious fool.

by Anonymousreply 118May 30, 2025 7:30 PM

What's wrong with playing white characters???

by Anonymousreply 119May 30, 2025 7:47 PM

I think Viola is really just trying to say "I wish my education featured some of the esteemed black playwrights". That's very fair and valid critique.

But that's not how it's coming across, and it's not racist to challenge her on her presentation of this.

Also, Blanche DuBois was supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful and mysterious. If there were an all black Streetcar, which would be really cool, I think - she'd be better as Stella.

by Anonymousreply 120May 30, 2025 7:56 PM

[quote] Also, Blanche DuBois was supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful and mysterious. If there were an all black Streetcar, which would be really cool, I think - she'd be better as Stella.

At her age, she'd be lucky to play the "Flores para los muertos" woman.

by Anonymousreply 121May 30, 2025 8:19 PM

R120 Have you ever seen or read the play? Seen the film versions? Blanche is a faded, phony belle. Your assessment is way off. Back to ripping Viola to shreds now.

by Anonymousreply 122May 30, 2025 8:54 PM

The poor woman has suffered so terribly!

by Anonymousreply 123May 30, 2025 9:02 PM

R123, I know! Didn't she claim that she ate rotten food out of a garbage bin? Did this bitch grow up in India or something?

by Anonymousreply 124May 30, 2025 9:16 PM

Viola can’t do comedy can she? If you are comparing her with other black actresses, Alfre Woodard, Whoopi Goldberg, Regina King, Loretta Devine, and Octavia Spencer are far better actresses and are much more versatile.

by Anonymousreply 125May 30, 2025 9:27 PM

True, Blanche Dubois is a faded Southern Belle. She was beautiful, but not anymore. She's only supposed to be around 35, which in the time the play was written was a lot older than it is now.

by Anonymousreply 126May 30, 2025 9:28 PM

[quote] As is white fatigue, seen in November. Entirely your choice if you want even more of that going forward. And the numbers are not on your side, that's all I'm gonna say.

R45 " More of that going forward" It's always been there, you big dummy. November was the second time "white fatigue" revealed your rotting brains, except this time, even your purse strings and private information are being affected by Trump, the sequel. Cut off your nose to spite your face. We won't ever accuse you of being smart R45, especially with numbers. You don't want to talk about numbers . I hope you're bilingual because in about 20 years, Spanish will be required for every position, and jobs will require you to rub more than your two dying brain cells together for any advancement. Good luck, amigo

by Anonymousreply 127May 30, 2025 9:45 PM

R122, yes and I've been in that play.

Blanche needs to be beautiful, but faded yes. She has to be set aside from Stella in order for Stanley to find her desirable.

by Anonymousreply 128May 30, 2025 10:12 PM

Hey, Viola - ZZZZZZZZZ.

by Anonymousreply 129May 30, 2025 10:30 PM

So let me get this straight...one should assume what an actress is capable of because of her race?

by Anonymousreply 130May 30, 2025 10:35 PM

R128. Not faded...unless you think someone in their early 30s is faded completely. Fading is what she is.

by Anonymousreply 131May 30, 2025 10:37 PM

I can understand her wishing to have more material written by black writers, but the idea that people forced HER only to do the classics is insane. As someone who studied acting for 6 years, everyone has to do that shit. Her thinking its just her and due to her race just shows you how self obsessed she is.

by Anonymousreply 132May 30, 2025 10:43 PM

[quote]I think Viola is really just trying to say "I wish my education featured some of the esteemed black playwrights".

You'd be wrong, because if Viola wished to say that she would have, yet she most certainly did not say anything of the kind.

Churlish: adjective- rude in a mean-spirited and surly way.

by Anonymousreply 133May 31, 2025 12:01 AM

[quote]If there were an all black Streetcar, which would be really cool, I think - she'd be better as Stella.

Nope. In the real world here on earth, the only character Viola could convincingly play is Eunice.

by Anonymousreply 134May 31, 2025 12:03 AM

That seems like an awful lot of shaping

by Anonymousreply 135May 31, 2025 12:04 AM

Yeah but what does she think about Julliard graduate Audra McDonald?

by Anonymousreply 136May 31, 2025 12:32 AM

Jeesh - does she ever shut up? Must be something in the water at Julliard.

My advice? Be humble!

by Anonymousreply 137May 31, 2025 2:01 AM

R120 there was an all black Streetcar. It was on Broadway in 2012. I didn't love it. I much preferred the all black version of Cat on a hit tin roof that had been on Broadway a few years before

by Anonymousreply 138May 31, 2025 2:54 AM

She is fucking insufferable. She never stops complaining. She went to Julliard and is having a fucking hissy. God damn. Shut up already.

by Anonymousreply 139May 31, 2025 4:23 AM

They should just throw her into a role in Bridgerton where she can play a white role as a black

by Anonymousreply 140May 31, 2025 4:23 AM

No, r140! That's exactly what she's still bitching about!

by Anonymousreply 141May 31, 2025 4:26 AM

R141 Well then throw her into a revival of Holiday Inn and she can sing Abraham

by Anonymousreply 142May 31, 2025 4:30 AM

Then do still more research on African History classic literature and legendary characters and produce or star in projects built around them, Whine-ola.

by Anonymousreply 143May 31, 2025 4:35 AM

[quote]Well then throw her into a revival of Holiday Inn and she can sing Abraham

Well then throw her into a revival of Showboat and she can sing Ol' Man River

by Anonymousreply 144May 31, 2025 4:44 AM

Her self-centered whining is tiresome.

by Anonymousreply 145May 31, 2025 9:41 AM

There are several ways Juilliard could cuntily push back-

-An award ceremony featuring three Black actors but Viola. -Offer to sponsor a Master class, but at the very last minute rescind the offer and give it to Issa Rae instead. -

by Anonymousreply 146May 31, 2025 10:07 AM

Whenever I hear an extremely successful and talented artist complaining about obstacles they face achieving universal acclaim and adoration “ why can’t I be Mary, Julia, tom Spielberg” etc…. I have to wonder- why does anyone want that? Why is having universal appreciation important in a world where a good percent of the universe is made from people with terrible taste and values? You want to be the McDonalds of artists, really? Why?

by Anonymousreply 147May 31, 2025 10:18 AM

Who is Mary?

by Anonymousreply 148May 31, 2025 11:45 AM

Mary Louise!

by Anonymousreply 149May 31, 2025 12:15 PM

Quit making excuses for the racist Viola.

She purposely uses phrasing that highlights her special kind of victimhood.

"Perfect white actress?"

Fuck you, OP. As far a black characters and playwrights not being used: BULLSHIT.

She's a liar.

by Anonymousreply 150May 31, 2025 1:55 PM

[quote]I can do the best I can with Tennessee Williams, but he writes for fragile, white women," she added. "Beautiful work, but it's not me.

Oh, really?

by Anonymousreply 151May 31, 2025 2:05 PM

R147, I've wondered about that too. Why would anyone wish to be a famous entertainer, when the bulk of your life is then dealing with mouth breathing worshippers trying to get closer to you.

by Anonymousreply 152May 31, 2025 3:00 PM

Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, Octavia Spencer, and other stars on how Hollywood treats Black women-FORTUNE

The constant whining has become so tedious.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 153May 31, 2025 5:20 PM

Well she had the opportunity to portray the most influential black woman going (Michelle Obama) and a classy, educated, dignified woman at that. Instead, she chose to give an offensive, stereotyped performance almost bordering on minstrel show. I'd pay a good fortune to hear Michell Obama's true opinions on THAT trainwreck, BTW.

Viola has issues. Saying that she was jealous of Chadwick Boseman being treated well on set but bragging that she followed Meryl Streep into the bathroom to "smell her" and jumping for joy that she filmed a love scene with Liam Neeson because she felt "Validated" or some weird shit.

by Anonymousreply 154May 31, 2025 5:48 PM

Viola like Kecia Lewis thinks she is keeping her racism hidden.

by Anonymousreply 155May 31, 2025 5:50 PM

To R12, I wanted to post that "racial-microaggression" comment.

data lounge, see you can teach olde white boomers new stuff!!

by Anonymousreply 156May 31, 2025 6:05 PM

[quote]Whoopi Goldberg, Halle Berry, Octavia Spencer, and other stars on how Hollywood treats Black women-FORTUNE The constant whining has become so tedious.

You don't think it's possible that a male dominated industry might treat women less favourably than men, and black women less favourably than white women?

by Anonymousreply 157May 31, 2025 6:05 PM

“I want to make this very clear – I’m not saying that Brad or Cate shouldn’t have gotten what they got,” Henson said at the time. “They put asses in seats, so give them their money. They deserve it. I’m not saying they shouldn’t get what they’re getting. I was just asking for half a million – that’s all. That’s it. When I was doing ‘Benjamin Button,’ I wasn’t worth a million yet. My audience was still getting to know me. We thought we were asking for what was fair for me, at the time.” Tataji P. Henson on the math ain't mathin'

R157 It's show BUSINESS hon! Brad Pitt has a long record of box office hits Fuck 'em!

by Anonymousreply 158May 31, 2025 7:06 PM

She thinks she's Hollywood royalty and the negative publicity she created surrounding the musical version of the Color Purple didn't help the film which fared poorly at the box office. H

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 159May 31, 2025 9:03 PM

She comes across as a royal pain in the ass!

Henson took issue with having to audition for the role of Shug Avery, despite being director Blitz Bazawule’s first choice for the part. “Oftentimes in the industry, you can be the director’s choice but not the studio’s, so I had to audition,” she told the New York Times. “I had to sing, dance, and they read me. I was like, ‘Ouch.’”

According to Henson, the production also lacked basic amenities, such as car or van services to transport them to set each day, a common industry practice. “I can’t drive myself to set in Atlanta. This is insurance liability, it’s dangerous.” she told the Times. “So I was like, ‘Can I get a driver or security to take me?’ I’m not asking for the moon. They’re like, ‘Well, if we do it for you, we got to do it for everybody.’ Well, do it for everybody! It’s stuff like that, stuff I shouldn’t have to fight for.’”

by Anonymousreply 160May 31, 2025 9:13 PM

Letitia Wright opens up about the ‘burden’ on Black artists as she gears up to make her directorial debut

burdened by what has been 🥱🥱🥱

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 161June 1, 2025 12:05 AM

[Quote] To [R12], I wanted to post that "racial-microaggression" comment.

[Quote] data lounge, see you can teach olde white boomers new stuff!!

And maybe teach us to spot microaggressions as well as to see the inequity in every single situation R156

by Anonymousreply 162June 1, 2025 12:09 AM

She’s addressing her fan base and they know it’s still true. It’s an adventure in mediocre white guy industry where all the true talent is in rehab at any given moment.

by Anonymousreply 163June 1, 2025 12:18 AM

R163 posting from the 80s

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 164June 1, 2025 12:26 AM

There is a huge chasm between "working actress" and "A-List movie star"

by Anonymousreply 165June 1, 2025 12:26 AM

So now she's not an actress but a black actress? Got it. I get confused about when we're supposed to see color and when we aren't.

by Anonymousreply 166June 1, 2025 12:30 AM

I guess the rainbow wasn’t enuf.

by Anonymousreply 167June 1, 2025 1:57 AM

Her entire identity is based on being a victim. As the kids are saying, ICK.

by Anonymousreply 168June 1, 2025 2:32 AM

A lot of blatant racism in this thread. People are allowed to say what they feel they've experienced, even if from the outside it looks as though the statement is false. As a gay man, I hate hate hate it when straight people tell me about my own experience. "Gay men have never experienced job discrimination". "Gay men have never faced problems in getting housing". "Gay people have never been subject to arbitrary arrest". "Gay people have never been blocked from adopting children".

I'm white, but I had an adult student say to me, without a trace of irony, that it was completely racist for Biden to announce that he was looking for a black female for the Supreme Court. "Shouldn't they be searching for the best?" he asked, sincerely. I said, "Don't you think that it would be healthy for the Supreme Court to look a bit more like our country?" "That perhaps a black judge might have a better notion of what black people experienced with voter obstruction than a bunch of white men?" "For 250 years, no one ever considered nominating a black female for the Supreme Court. For 200 years, no female at all. For 190 years, no black man. For 230 years, no person from a Hispanic background. For 160 years, no Jew. For 185 years, no Catholic." " In all those years, were the best judges only to be found among white Protestant men"?

by Anonymousreply 169June 1, 2025 6:15 AM

Yeah it's a shame R169 that all those groups you mentioned didn't get to make millions of dollars and still complain in interviews about how tough it is like we do!

by Anonymousreply 170June 1, 2025 7:20 AM

Yep there are 2 things which can be true at the same time

1. Racism (and misogyny) for these women is real and in a lot of cases there are well established examples of pay inequality and a lack of roles for black women, and an expectation that films with black women won't be commercial. And there is truth in what Viola says, that the default position at drama schools was white European plays. Other black actors have said the same. Look at the reaction to Cynthia Erivo playing a green person, in a role that is literally race less.

2. Some of the language used around racism (microaggressions etc) is ridiculous and the attacks on Patti LuPone are an example of this. That woman is an equal opportunities cunt, she hates everyone but the fear of not being nasty about a black woman because that's racist is ridiculous.

by Anonymousreply 171June 1, 2025 7:21 AM

[Quote] Look at the reaction to Cynthia Erivo playing a green person, in a role that is literally race less.

You got a problem with that R171

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 172June 1, 2025 7:31 AM

Viola Davis hasn’t had an interesting performance in years. She goes for the money over the art most of the time.

by Anonymousreply 173June 1, 2025 1:17 PM

Exactly what kind of experience did she expect to get at Juilliard? Did she do any kind of research prior to attending. Was she forced to go there?

by Anonymousreply 174June 1, 2025 2:33 PM

Viola's experience was probably similar to a lot of gay men of that era who were told they needed to butch up to play the classics.

by Anonymousreply 175June 1, 2025 2:49 PM

[quote]Viola's experience was probably similar to a lot of gay men of that era who were told they needed to butch up to play the classics.

Yes. That's why they call it "acting".

by Anonymousreply 176June 1, 2025 3:56 PM

[Quote] Viola's experience was probably similar to a lot of gay men of that era who were told they needed to butch up to play the classics.

So only gay actors should play gay characters, and only straight actors should play straight characters?

by Anonymousreply 177June 1, 2025 4:51 PM

Juilliard made me into what I am today

by Anonymousreply 178June 1, 2025 4:52 PM

So, Sharon Stone can play Mama in "Raison in the Sun" and no black woman would have a problem with it!!

by Anonymousreply 179June 1, 2025 4:58 PM

[quote]So only gay actors should play gay characters, and only straight actors should play straight characters?

For fuck's sake no, that's not what I said or meant.

But you can imagine Sean Hayes being told he'd never play Hamlet or Stanley Kowalski in a drama school production because he was too swishy.

by Anonymousreply 180June 1, 2025 6:23 PM

R180 that's what was implied whether you realize it or not. Actors are told to act a certain way so rather than have a straight actor put on 'swishy 'mannerisms which some might find offensive hire a gay actor for gay roles and by logical extension . . .

by Anonymousreply 181June 1, 2025 6:34 PM

[quote] So, Sharon Stone can play Mama in "Raison in the Sun"

Sharon Stone has a talent that allows her to play everything, from Lady MacBeth to Scooby-Doo.

From her explosive performance in “Basic Instinct” that shook cinema to its core, Sharon has commanded the silver screen with a near-hypnotic force, rivaled only by her once-in-a-lifetime beauty and unrivaled sensuality.

Her Oscar-nominated performance in Martin Scorcese’s “Casino” cemented her as a cinematic legend, cementing her legacy as film’s greatest femme fatale. She has since taken moviegoers’ breath away with an intoxicating combination of thespian brilliance, seductive brilliance and the parched of a grand comedienne.

So where you need a righteous martyr, a suffering patriot or a woman of danger and intrigue, there is only one actress Hollywood turns to with excitement and passion.

That actress, that icon, is Sharon Stone

by Anonymousreply 182June 1, 2025 7:30 PM

[quote]Juilliard made me into what I am today

Unemployed?

by Anonymousreply 183June 1, 2025 8:33 PM

Poor Viola. She’s never recovered from using the n-word as Michelle Obama.

by Anonymousreply 184June 1, 2025 9:15 PM

Poor Viola.

by Anonymousreply 185June 1, 2025 9:46 PM

[quote]The younger generation of American black people have been brainwashed into believing they created everything, from Opera to country music, to space technology to the founding of the United States. They did it all, they built it all, they all suffered from it, and they are all still suffering from it, and none of them have ever received credit for it.

Please, sub-Saharan Africans were still living as prehistoric hunter-gatherers when Europeans started coming around in the 15th century.

Blacks also try to claim that they (13% of the population now, much less back then) built America, never mind the great white majority who did most everything.

The fact is, most inventors and explorers were white men, which of course is why woke progressives are trying to rewrite history.

by Anonymousreply 186June 1, 2025 10:01 PM

R186 None of this is accurate. But you’re from the same group of people who believe Jesus had long blonde hair and blue eyes.

by Anonymousreply 187June 1, 2025 10:14 PM

[quote]The fact is, most inventors and explorers were white men, which of course is why woke progressives are trying to rewrite history.

Whoever would do anything like rewriting history?

by Anonymousreply 188June 1, 2025 10:19 PM

[quote]None of this is accurate. But you’re from the same group of people who believe Jesus had long blonde hair and blue eyes.

No. You are wrong.

What R186 wrote is the truth.

by Anonymousreply 189June 1, 2025 10:21 PM

[quote]The fact is, most inventors and explorers were white men, which of course is why woke progressives are trying to rewrite history.

They can't get away with that bullshit any place outside of the USA.

by Anonymousreply 190June 1, 2025 10:23 PM

Not bad for a white actress:

[quote]Viola Davis is an American actress who has a net worth of $25 million. Viola Davis began her career as a successful theater actress and eventually transitioned towards film and television. On February 5, 2023, Viola joined the "EGOT" club after winning a Grammy for the audiobook of her memoir. She had already previously won an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a Tony Award. She won her Oscar for her role in the 2017 film "Fences." She won her Emmy in 2015 for her role in "How To Get Away With Murder." She won a Tony Award in 2001 and 2010 for roles in the plays "King Hedley II" and "Fences," respectively. Outside of acting, Viola also has a number of credits as a producer. In addition, she is an activist who is passionate about human rights issues like child hunger. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in the world, earning roughly $15 million between September 2019 and September 2020.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 191June 1, 2025 10:28 PM

R186 No, he’s not correct at all. Inaccurate and ignorant.

You don’t know about Americans like Granville T. Woods or Benjamin Banneker or Lewis Latimer.

You also don’t know about the Mali Empire or Timbuktu.

Among other things I don’t care to school you on. It doesn’t matter what history says, you’ll believe whites invented the universe anyways so there’s no point in arguing with delusions.

by Anonymousreply 192June 1, 2025 10:56 PM

White people didn’t invent paper, numbers, medicine, cities, writing, agriculture, or even the gods they pray to — they just wrote the textbooks.

by Anonymousreply 193June 1, 2025 10:57 PM

Just a tip R192, seeing as you have taken it upon yourself to “school us” - intelligent people don’t use the non-word “anyways”.

by Anonymousreply 194June 2, 2025 12:48 AM

[quote]White people didn’t invent paper, numbers, medicine, cities, writing, agriculture, or even the gods they pray to — they just wrote the textbooks.

LOL.

Whites unlocked the secrets of DNA and relativity, launched satellites, created automation, discovered electricity and nuclear energy, invented automobiles, aircraft, steam engines, gas engines, jet engines, batteries, submarines, radio, television, computers, medicine, cinema, x-rays, lasers, telephones, light bulbs, photography, and countless other technological miracles. Whites were the first to circumnavigate the planet by ship, orbit it by spacecraft, walk on the moon, probe beyond the solar system, climb the highest peaks, reach both poles, exceed the sound barrier, descend to the oceans depths...

And BTW: white men are only 8% of the world's population.

by Anonymousreply 195June 2, 2025 1:00 AM

If Meryl Streep were a professional pot-stirrer, she could comment that Viola's whining is "getting really loud"!

by Anonymousreply 196June 2, 2025 1:05 AM

I like her with natural hair. Her wigs always look fake.

by Anonymousreply 197June 2, 2025 1:38 AM

Impressive list, r195,

Electric rice cooker The Shinkansen Tactile paving The Laptop The Walkman The Novel Blue LED lights Car Navigation System Katana Imari Porcelain Microcomputer CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray Karaoke Emoji Pokemon Jet ski

That's just Japanese men. .25% of the world's population.

My point is simply that when a particular place prioritizes education and invention and there is a political system and infrastructure to support that, an incredible list of inventions can quickly accumulate. Britain, the US, Germany, and to a lesser extent, Russia and France put these conditions into place in the second half of the 19th century into the 20th century and there was an explosion of inventiveness. That center of inventiveness shifted to Asia in the second half of the 20th century. That says little about individuals or races. Instead, it's all about where the CONDITIONS of creativity have been put into place.

Black people DID build the southeast and the south of the US. There's no doubt about that. The population of the south was 1/3rd black from the founding of the nation through the beginning of the 20th century. White people did not do the majority of manual labor in slave-holding states. With few exceptions, they did not clear the land, they did not plant the crops, they did not dig the drainage ditches, they did not pave the roads, they did not lay the railroad tracks, they did not cut the forests, they did not make the bricks, they did not lay the foundations of the houses, they did not do any of that. They also didn't cook, clean, wash clothes, feed the pigs, or slaughter the cattle. They didn't bale the cotton, organize the tobacco into sheaves, or groom the horses. They may have supplied materials, they might have had a plan and told people (slaves) what to do, but they didn't do most of the labor themselves. Washington DC was surrounded by Virginia, a slave state, so it too was built by black people. Alexander Archie, a civil engineer, designed and built many of the most iconic roads in DC. Considering the obstacles put into place for black people, having a George Washington Carver, or an Alexander Miles who invented the automatic closure for elevators is rather incredible.

Among more modern inventions by black people have been laser cataract surgery, the color PC monitor, the X-ray imaging spectrometer, the inventor of extraction and industrial synthesis of steroids, the first effective medical treatment for leprosy, the rotary blade lawnmower, the first gigaherz processor chip, first online banking website, the dry-cleaning process, refrigerated trucks for transporting food, the gas mask, central heating furnace using natural gas, and many more things. I would term these inventions AMERICAN inventions, because the conditions for creativity were in place.

I would be very surprised if you knew any of this.

by Anonymousreply 198June 2, 2025 4:45 AM

How did Viola contribute to the building of America? I thought this thread was about her accusing Julliard of training her to be white.

by Anonymousreply 199June 2, 2025 12:08 PM

[quote]Electric rice cooker The Shinkansen Tactile paving The Laptop The Walkman The Novel Blue LED lights Car Navigation System Katana Imari Porcelain Microcomputer CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray Karaoke Emoji Pokemon Jet ski

Good try but uh....thats not the most impressive list and few would have been possible without the invention of the harnessing of electricity, computers, the speaker, electronics, the transistor, the laser etc.

by Anonymousreply 200June 2, 2025 12:50 PM

Did Viola Davis invent post its?

by Anonymousreply 201June 2, 2025 12:53 PM

[quote]With few exceptions, they did not clear the land, they did not plant the crops, they did not dig the drainage ditches, they did not pave the roads, they did not lay the railroad tracks, they did not cut the forests, they did not make the bricks, they did not lay the foundations of the houses, they did not do any of that. They also didn't cook, clean, wash clothes, feed the pigs, or slaughter the cattle. They didn't bale the cotton, organize the tobacco into sheaves, or groom the horses.

In fact, they did not.

They invented, developed systems, designed, projected, held the plans.

[quote]Black people DID build the southeast and the south of the US.

Without brilliant minds, nothing would have been accomplished.

When we think of an orchestra performance we think of the composer and the conductor not the guy playing the oboe.

by Anonymousreply 202June 2, 2025 1:01 PM

Laborers are interchangeable. Brilliant minds are not.

by Anonymousreply 203June 2, 2025 1:03 PM

[quote]Electric rice cooker The Shinkansen Tactile paving The Laptop The Walkman The Novel Blue LED lights Car Navigation System Katana Imari Porcelain Microcomputer CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray Karaoke Emoji Pokemon Jet ski That's just Japanese men. .25% of the world's population.

Yeah. OK.

Read this list of inventions that came out of the tiny country of Italy.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 204June 2, 2025 1:12 PM

R202, you are a racist cunt. I’m actually part of the family of one of our Founding Fathers - those white male slaveholders who were responsible for the drafting of the Declaration of Independence - and I even I can step back and recognize how much of the infrastructure of colonial America was created and sustained by stolen slave labor.

You’re just a white smut-monger whose family I’m betting has probably been in this country less time than the black families who built it up around you.

Eat Elon Musk’s shit which I’m sure you would gladly slurp up.

by Anonymousreply 205June 2, 2025 3:25 PM

See what people like R205 do when they don't have a good argument?

by Anonymousreply 206June 2, 2025 3:48 PM

[quote]how much of the infrastructure of colonial America was created and sustained by stolen slave labor.

Laborers did not create the infrastructure. The infrastructure was created by architects, designers, engineers, draftsmen, planners. The building of the infrastructure was carried out by laborers.

by Anonymousreply 207June 2, 2025 3:52 PM

See what KKK members like R206 and R207 do when their views are challenged by facts?

You type FOB.

by Anonymousreply 208June 2, 2025 3:54 PM

R208 Is so dumb he thinks the laborers who assembled his iPhone designed it.

by Anonymousreply 209June 2, 2025 4:18 PM

[quote] How did Viola contribute to the building of America?

Her copious snot was used as the mortar for many of the great buildings in DC.

by Anonymousreply 210June 2, 2025 4:26 PM

'You're paying for every bit of food you eat.' -Michelle Obama

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 211June 2, 2025 4:27 PM

^^^The glass is always half empty

by Anonymousreply 212June 2, 2025 4:31 PM

Look who wrote the article-Washington Examiner-Maga neo-nazi Rethug bullshit!!

by Anonymousreply 213June 2, 2025 4:35 PM

Fun fact about the Obamas: both of them cannot stand being around people who are overweight--like Dataloungers, they consider it a moral failing. (I heard this from someone who was told this by her friend Amy Klobuchar, who is of course herself overweight.)

When one of the Obama daughters started getting plump during their White House years, Michelle completely freaked out.

by Anonymousreply 214June 2, 2025 4:35 PM

Isn't Michelle Obama correct, though?

She's not complaining that she deserves more money. She's enlightening people that no First Family gets everything handed to them on the taxpayer dime, and that it can actually be a struggle for a family that isn't wealthy going in.

by Anonymousreply 215June 2, 2025 4:56 PM

And she certainly has a lot to omplain about R215 I hope she can enjoy her $11.75M ocean front compound in Martha's Vineyard.

Barack Obama was the president who saw the second highest increase to his wealth coming out of office, at around 5,300 percent.

After the Democrat was in office for two terms between 2009 to 2017, he accumulated a net worth of $70 million, up from $1.3 million.

It is believed that a large proportion of his wealth came through book advances and sales, according to afrotech.com, where between 2005 and 2016, he made $15.6 million via the publishing industry alone.

by Anonymousreply 216June 2, 2025 5:02 PM

Juilliard is the place to be

by Anonymousreply 217June 2, 2025 5:04 PM

R215 PS she's not enlighening ayone; she's out of touch.

by Anonymousreply 218June 2, 2025 5:04 PM

Was the party canceled when Michelle discovered she was expected to pay the caterer for the food!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 219June 2, 2025 5:08 PM

R213 Take your meds it's something that she said during her podcast and it was widely reported but she did actually say that so I don't understand what your problem is other than like Michelle you're not getting.

by Anonymousreply 220June 2, 2025 5:10 PM

^^^ laid R213

[Quote]Maga neo-nazi Rethug

so bitter! so last year!

by Anonymousreply 221June 2, 2025 5:17 PM

R209, isn’t there a lynching somewhere you should be attending?

by Anonymousreply 222June 2, 2025 6:08 PM

[quote]How did Viola contribute to the building of America? I thought this thread was about her accusing Julliard of training her to be white.

TRY TO KEEP UP!

by Anonymousreply 223June 2, 2025 6:10 PM

Every First Family is surprised to have to buy their own groceries, and a few have grumbled about it (Trumans). I learned this when I read "Backstairs at the White House", a very popular book which covered I think six First Families from FDR through to the Nixons.

Still, the Obamas are multimillionaires, and Michelle seems to have discovered a lot to complain about and be victimized by of late. Did she attend Juilliard?

by Anonymousreply 224June 2, 2025 6:19 PM

Reminds me of Clarence Thomas hanging his Yale diploma in the basement. There are plenty of people in Flyoverstan who would be happy to take their places.

by Anonymousreply 225June 2, 2025 6:20 PM

Viola Davis stars in..."Escape from Juilliard!" A harrowing tale of one strong black woman's fight to not become a white actress!

by Anonymousreply 226June 2, 2025 6:43 PM

She would rather have been a Pam Grier era blaxploitation Queen? Viola was effective enough for me to swear off of any chocolate desserts offered to me by an African American: That doo doo that you do so well.

by Anonymousreply 227June 2, 2025 6:47 PM

R226 Watch her as she takes up space, digs up bones, and insists on being desired!

by Anonymousreply 228June 2, 2025 6:49 PM

Why wasn't Viola cast in either of the last two revivals of "A Raisin in the Sun"?

I guess she felt it was Beneatha!

by Anonymousreply 229June 2, 2025 6:49 PM

Nobody wants to watch Viola sunning her raisins.

by Anonymousreply 230June 2, 2025 6:52 PM

R198 you are aware of course that slaveholders comprised about 1.4% of the population before the Civil War ? That leaves 98.6 that werent . Its amazing how 1.4% used their slaves to build ,according to you,everything !

by Anonymousreply 231June 2, 2025 7:05 PM

She just wants constant attention and constant validation for her BOTTOMLESS well of grievances.

by Anonymousreply 232June 2, 2025 7:21 PM

R231 But see what menluvinguy does? His list of "inventions" at R198. Take for example "Among more modern inventions by black people have been laser cataract surgery". Uh...no laser cataract surgery was "In February 2010, Stephen G. Slade, MD, the medical director for LenSx, performed the first laser cataract surgery in the United States". And "The first report of a human eye treated with this technology was in Hungary in 2008. The technology was developed between 1995 and 1997."

And on down the line. But rewriting history is what they do.

by Anonymousreply 233June 2, 2025 7:28 PM

[quote]R3 She uses the words I, I'm, me, myself 12 times in those 3 paragraphs. It's all about HER, HER, HER!

She can only discuss what she’s personally experienced re: training and performance.

If she instead barked “YOU, YOU, YOU!” then you’d call her an angry black woman.

by Anonymousreply 234June 2, 2025 8:07 PM

[quote]R55 25 years ago I saw a magnificent all-Black "Streetcar" in Denver. That Blanche didn't have any qualms about accepting a "perfect white actress" role, presumably.

How do they handle that line about, “Can’t we have a colored girl do it?” when Blanche discusses nursing the dying?

by Anonymousreply 235June 2, 2025 8:40 PM

^^ I’m not saying it can’t be done! I’m just wondering.

I guess I would simply cut “colored,” letting “girl” indicate a servant on its own.

by Anonymousreply 236June 2, 2025 8:49 PM

Miss Davis deserves the opportunity for Hollywood to portray her as the sexually alive woman of a certain age that she is.

by Anonymousreply 237June 2, 2025 8:54 PM

[quote] Miss Davis deserves the opportunity for Hollywood to portray her as the sexually alive woman of a certain age that she is.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 238June 2, 2025 9:16 PM

R215 let me enlighten you

Barack Obama served from 2009 to 2017. He earned $400,000 a year while president, with a $50,000 expense account.19

As an ex-president, Obama received about $1.3 million for fiscal year 2024. That included $255,000 for his pension. He was allocated $209,000 in benefits and compensation for his staff. Obama received $605,000 for office space and communications, utilities, and miscellaneous expenses. He had no travel budget for 2024.1 U.S. General Services Administration. "Allowances and Office Staff for Former Presidents, Fiscal Year 2024 Budget Request."

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 239June 2, 2025 10:42 PM

[Quote] When one of the Obama daughters started getting plump during their White House years, Michelle completely freaked out.

well, that's understandable. They had to pay for every bit of food that heifer ate

by Anonymousreply 240June 2, 2025 10:49 PM

R222 isn't there an RA meeting you have to attend

by Anonymousreply 241June 2, 2025 11:00 PM

r233 - for your edification: I'm so sorry that I didn't use the term laser photoablative cataract surgery, since I'm certain you know all about laser surgery on the eyes.

"Bath coined the term "laser phaco" for the process, short for laser photoablative cataract surgery,[36] and developed the laser phaco probe, a medical device that improves on the use of lasers to remove cataracts, and "for ablating and removing cataract lenses". Bath first had the idea for this type of device in 1981, but did not apply for a patent until several years later.[37] The device was completed in 1986 after Bath conducted research on lasers in Berlin and patented in 1988,[38] making her the first African-American woman to receive a patent for a medical purpose.[11] The device — which quickly and nearly painlessly dissolves the cataract with a laser, irrigates and cleans the eye and permits the easy insertion of a new lens — is used internationally to treat the disease.[5][4][6] Bath continued to improve the device and successfully restored vision to people who had been unable to see for decades.[19][39]

Bath holds five patents in the United States.[2] Three of Bath's five patents relate to the Laserphaco Probe.[19] In 2000, she was granted a patent for a method for using pulsed ultrasound to remove cataracts,[6] and in 2003 a patent for combining laser and ultrasound to remove cataracts."

by Anonymousreply 242June 2, 2025 11:11 PM

Once again: see what menluvinguy does? He incorrectly states that laser cataract surgery was invented by a black person and when called out on it, he must go for a snide personal remark "since I'm certain you know all about laser surgery on the eyes." Bud, get your facts straight.

Next, going down the list. He claims a black person invented the color PC monitor. The truth is Mark Dean "helped develop the first color PC monitor " - invent.org

by Anonymousreply 243June 2, 2025 11:54 PM

See what r243 does? He is too lazy intellectually to engage with the substance of a post, so he nibbles on the edges. Is he trying to claim that black people have never invented anything? You decide:

Here is a list of Mark Dean's patents:

Color video display system having programmable border color 4437092 March 13, 1984 Composite video color signal generation from digital color signals 4442428 April 10, 1984 Microcomputer system with bus control means for peripheral processing devices 4528626 July 9, 1985 Refresh generator system for a dynamic memory 4575826 March 11, 1986 Data processing system including a main processor and a co-processor and co-processor error handling logic 4598356 July 1, 1986 Computer system including a page mode memory with decreased access time and method of operation thereof 5034917 July 23, 1991 Method and apparatus for selectively posting write cycles using the 82385 cache controller 5045998 September 3, 1991 Bidirectional buffer with latch and parity capability 5107507 April 21, 1992 Control of pipelined operation in a microcomputer system employing dynamic bus sizing with 80386 processor and 82385 cache controller 5125084 June 23, 1992 System bus preempt for 80386 when running in an 80386/82385 microcomputer system with arbitration 5129090 July 7, 1992 Microprocessor hold and lock circuitry 5170481 December 8, 1992 Delayed cache write enable circuit for a dual bus microcomputer system with an 80386 and 82385 5175826 December 29, 1992 Data processing apparatus for selectively posting write cycles using the 82385 cache controller 5327545 July 5, 1994 Connecting a short word length non-volatile memory to a long word length address/data multiplexed bus 5448521 September 5, 1995 Microcomputer system employing address offset mechanism to increase the supported cache memory capacity 5450559 September 12, 1995 System and method for prefetching information in a processing system 5544342 August 6, 1996 Non-contiguous mapping of I/O addresses to use page protection of a process 5548746 August 20, 1996 Self-time processor with dynamic clock generator having plurality of tracking elements for outputting sequencing signals to functional units 5553276 September 3, 1996 Method and system for reading from a m-byte memory utilizing a processor having a n-byte data bus 5603041 February 11, 1997 Method and system in a distributed shared-memory data processing system for determining utilization of nodes by each executed thread 6266745 July 24, 2001 Method and system in a distributed shared-memory data processing system for determining utilization of shared-memory included within nodes by a designated application 6336170 January 1, 2002 Data storage device for recording to magnetic thread 7206163 April 17, 2007 Method and apparatus for constructing a neuroscience-inspired artificial neural network with visualization of neural pathways 9753959 September 5, 2017 Method and apparatus for constructing, using and reusing components and structures of an artificial neural network 10019470 July 10, 2018 Method and apparatus for providing random selection and long-term potentiation and depression in an artificial network 10055434 August 21, 2018 Method and apparatus for constructing a dynamic adaptive neural network array (DANNA) 10095718 October 9, 2018 Method and apparatus for providing real-time monitoring of an artificial neural network 10248675 April 2, 2019

by Anonymousreply 244June 3, 2025 12:09 AM

[quote] Is he trying to claim that black people have never invented anything? You decide:

Another one of menluvinguy's strawmen.

Please cite where I have ever stated that "black people have never invented anything".

Thanks.

by Anonymousreply 245June 3, 2025 12:14 AM

Her endless complaining is annoying but it seems like datalounge has been invaded by white supremacists

by Anonymousreply 246June 3, 2025 12:41 AM

R195 Black men invented the traffic light, the gas mask, the home security system, the modern blood bank, the carbon light filament, refrigerated trucks, the automatic elevator door, the clothes dryer, laser eye surgery tools, the pacemaker control unit, the first PC microprocessor, railway communication systems, synthetic cortisone, the dustpan, the lawn sprinkler, the ironing board, the potato chip, and improved typewriters, light bulbs, trains, and telephones.

by Anonymousreply 247June 3, 2025 3:31 AM

Sorry not just black men, add black women too

by Anonymousreply 248June 3, 2025 3:32 AM

What has Viola Davis invented?

Anything?

by Anonymousreply 249June 3, 2025 4:19 AM

[quote] What has Viola Davis invented?

The EGOT ingrate.

by Anonymousreply 250June 3, 2025 4:22 AM

R247 … the first printing press, banking, insulating foam, agriculture, clothes dryers, electricity, the telephone, envelopes, math …

by Anonymousreply 251June 3, 2025 4:24 AM

Gotta love, DL.

A routine and eye-rolling story about Viola Davis’ latest and never-ending grievances turns into a debate over who invented laser cataract surgery. Pretty much nowhere has mention of the former ever led to the discussion of the latter.

I love you, DL! Never change 😘.

by Anonymousreply 252June 3, 2025 4:36 AM

But, R252, no one has asked what part Viola should play in the revival of " Follies."

by Anonymousreply 253June 3, 2025 4:47 AM

Viola will temporarily cease her grumbling once she is cast as Yolanda Tramell, a gorgeous, irresistible, deadly and sexually voracious maneater from Oakland, in an all-black version of “Basic Instinct.”

Costarring Colman Domingo, who will turn heterosexual after his racy love scenes with Viola.

by Anonymousreply 254June 3, 2025 4:56 AM

I think that there should be a Congressional investigation into why and how poor Viola was held captive at that school where she was obviously so miserable.

by Anonymousreply 255June 3, 2025 2:22 PM

Viola is a Stella in Follies. Maybe a Hattie?

by Anonymousreply 256June 3, 2025 4:58 PM

[quote] Viola was effective enough for me to swear off of any chocolate desserts offered to me by an African American: That doo doo that you do so well.

That was Olivia Spencer, dear.

by Anonymousreply 257June 3, 2025 6:03 PM

More rewriting of history at R247.

by Anonymousreply 258June 3, 2025 7:15 PM

It’s OCTAVIA Spencer.

by Anonymousreply 259June 3, 2025 7:18 PM

I read her book in parts. She says she was offered a place in the professional company of Circle in the Square but turned it down to go to Julliard.

I don't think Circle in the Square ever had a professional "company."

by Anonymousreply 260June 3, 2025 9:22 PM

I would have loved to have gone to Juilliard, but father wouldn't hear of it.

He needed me behind the notions counter...

by Anonymousreply 261June 3, 2025 9:38 PM

Viola is continuing her strategy of trying to guilt award voters into voting for her based on all of her struggles and discrimination. She even lays the groundwork when she has no projects to promote.

The problem is she’s won every major acting award and her cries of unfairness rings like the bullshit it is. Especially when there are countless deserving actresses who have won nothing while her greedy ass keeps begging for more.

Sigourney Weaver. Michelle Pfeiffer. Annette Benning. Their trophy cases remain empty except for Golden Globes. But poor Viola needs more, more, more. And if you don’t give it to her you’re racist.

The various voting bodies are on to this scam and will hopefully reward her with nothing moving forward. She is truly detestable. And she’ll never be pretty.

by Anonymousreply 262June 3, 2025 11:34 PM

This interview is no surprise.

Viola has a history of trashing past opportunities others would cherish for the sake of cheap headlines.

Despite getting a Best Actress nomination for “The Help,” years later she disowned it during the summer of 2020 when calling anything in popular culture racist was in fashion.

I wonder if Octavia Spencer feels the same way about that film and her Oscar win?

Race, rinse, repeat: that’s Viola.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 263June 4, 2025 12:07 AM

I guess Julliard wanted her to get some work.

by Anonymousreply 264June 4, 2025 12:10 AM

Keep complaining, bitch. See where it gets you.

by Anonymousreply 265June 4, 2025 12:27 AM
Loading
Need more help? Click Here.

Yes indeed, we too use "cookies." Take a look at our privacy/terms or if you just want to see the damn site without all this bureaucratic nonsense, click ACCEPT. Otherwise, you'll just have to find some other site for your pointless bitchery needs.

×

Become a contributor - post when you want with no ads!