Hollywood colorism has fallen under direct scrutiny, especially after the scathing interview that Tyrese Gibson delivered against Terrence Howard last year. The Fast & Furious franchise star pulled back no punches in his vocal and verbose rant against the unfair system that has occupied the industry’s inner sanctum and managed to create disparity and rift within the context of Black actors. The interview, which went viral at the time, has shed some much-needed light on the scale of the practice that has plagued Hollywood over the past decade.
Tyrese Gibson Criticizes Hollywood Colorism in Searing Rant
While speaking with Leah Henry in Leah’s Lemonade, Tyrese Gibson who rose to fame after his role in the Fast & Furious film series, spoke of the preference that Hollywood executives hold over “light-skinned Black people” even while filling their diversity quota for a movie. For Gibson, however, this problematic practice of colorism wasn’t something that he encountered within the Hollywood walls in L.A. for the first time, either.
“Throughout my whole childhood, it was not cool to be dark-skinned in the ’hood. It was always the light-skinned Black people that seemed to have gotten all the attention and all the love and considered pretty, attractive, or handsome. And since I’ve been in Hollywood, we dealt with the same thing.”
The actor, over the past two decades, has become a globally renowned face for his industry presence in the billion-dollar Fast & Furious franchise and as a musician. His talent as an R&B singer has propelled him to #12 in the coveted U.S. Billboard Hot 100 with the single Sweet Lady after he debuted his self-titled album way back in 1998. Currently, Gibson is gearing up for the semi-final film, Fast X which premieres in 2023.
Tyrese Gibson Steers Terrence Howard’s Hollywood Career
In his interview with Leah Henry, Tyrese Gibson essentially revealed that much of Terrence Howard’s career could be credited to Gibson. Even though Howard has carefully curated a career marked by an Academy Award nomination and has had a prominent presence within the industry as one of its most notable actors, Gibson’s claims indicate that the factors that have led to the Iron Man star’s fame were due to the favors of Hollywood colorism and Gibson’s own magnanimity.
“I just did a film with Terrence Howard — we’re able to joke about it now — but I was the star of the film, and they had an idea to go with someone else, who I won’t mention, and then I suggested Terrence Howard. And he thanked me for, like, a week straight. Terrence Howard has no idea how many roles that I was about to book, and they went with him because he’s the lighter-skinned Black man with the green eyes.”
Terrence Howard recently announced his retirement from Hollywood during a red carpet event of The Best Man: The Final Chapter. The 53-year-old actor is ready to pass on the torch to the younger generation and claimed that he has “given the very best” that he can as an actor.
Fast X premieres theatrically on 19 May 2023.
Source: Leah’s Lemonade
