Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

'Dear White People' Actor Calls Out Broadway's Racism In Powerful Video About The 'Horrific Treatment' He's Experienced

'Dear White People' Actor Calls Out Broadway's Racism In Powerful Video About The 'Horrific Treatment' He's Experienced
Photo by Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
Make us preferred on Google

This has no doubt been an exhausting and incredibly difficult week for people of color across the country.

The protests over George Floyd will not be stopping any time soon. Many people of color are making their experiences with racism known.


Griffin Matthews, an actor, writer and producer from the acclaimed Netflix series Dear White People unapologetically added Broadway to the national conversation in a seven minute long video recalling his experiences with racism in the entertainment industry.

Matthews' video pulls from Amy Cooper, the white, liberal woman who unnecessarily called police on Christian Cooper in Central Park while he was birdwatching, to create a strong metaphor for a black person's experience every single day in the throes of a Broadway career.

Matthews went through several pieces of racist mistreatment and racist events he was witness to over the years, such as seeing a major White director comment on an actress's Blackness level, a White producer saying "slavery is over, no one wants to hear about that" and being forced to edit his experience as told through an off-broadway piece to make a White producer more comfortable.

He concludes that Broadway will somehow make stars of all its Amy Coopers, but that he may never make it to Broadway for speaking out about the racism he's been on the receiving end of.

Other Broadway actors were quick to come and show their support.





Folks are also expressing fear and the need to protect actors like Griffin Matthews and John Boyega, who were calling out anti-Blackness in their industries, from being disinvited to the table for work following speaking out on their experiences.





The #BroadwayIsRacist hashtag is also gaining quite a bit of traction.



As the curtain continues to be drawn back on American institutions, we will see how deep the need for complete and total restructuring of the system is.

More from Trending

Florence Pugh; sign for Cornell University; Josh Gad
Jason Mendez/Getty Images for Netflix; Matt Burkhartt/Getty Images; Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Disney

Florence Pugh And Josh Gad Lead Celebrity Outrage After Cornell Frat Members Assigned Essays As Punishment For Sexual Assault

About a week ago, the story of the "Cornell 7" allegations broke publicly when a civil lawsuit was filed by a former Cornell University student known only as Jane Doe. The lawsuit detailed an October 2024 sexual assault at the Chi Phi fraternity house and Cornell University's handling of the assault after it was reported to school officials.

The public backlash against the seven rapists and four university officials named in the suit, as well as Cornell University, the Ivy League, and fraternities as a whole has been swift. Many people have shared their own experiences with institutions of higher learning and the mishandling of sexual assaults.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Luanne James
WKRN News 2/YouTube

Heroic Tennessee Librarian Sues After Being Fired For Refusing To Hide LGBTQ+ Books From Kids

Luanne James, the former library director of Tennessee's Rutherford County, has filed a lawsuit against the county's library board after she was terminated for refusing to move LGBTQ+ books from the children's section to the adult section.

The board’s decision to move the roughly 100 children’s books to the adult section followed a statewide “age-appropriateness review” ordered the previous year by Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, a Republican.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Aaron Schwartz/Getty Images

Trump Hit With Blistering Factcheck After Making Patently False Claim About Prices Going 'Way Down'

President Donald Trump was swiftly fact-checked by CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale after he claimed to members of the press that "almost every price has come way down" following Joe Biden's presidency.

Earlier in the day, Trump bragged to reporters that the United States has the "best poverty," sparking immediate criticism. He continued to lie later, even as inflation remains above the level recorded when Biden left office, economic growth has slowed, and the cost of filling a gas tank has surged roughly 50% since the war against Iran began.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump in campaign ad
U.S. Government

Trump's Latest Government-Funded Campaign Ad Just Aired On National TV—And Critics Are Crying Foul

President Donald Trump and the White House are facing criticism after Fox aired a new taxpayer-funded campaign ad that was "paid for by the U.S. government" several times over the weekend.

The black-and-white ad uses slowed footage of Trump walking through a hallway, accompanied by his voiceover pledging that "this is the final battle." It ran during at least two of Fox’s Sunday NFL broadcasts, appearing during the Washington Commanders-Seattle Seahawks game and the Carolina Panthers-Cleveland Browns matchup, as well as on Fox News.

Keep ReadingShow less
Paulina Porizkova speaks candidly about aging and the expectations placed on women as they grow older.
@paulinaporizkov/Instagram

Paulina Porizkova Speaks Out About How Women Are 'Expected To Go Silent' As They Get Older In Powerful Video

Paulina Porizkova knows what it’s like to have all eyes on her. The supermodel rose to fame in the 1980s, but at 61, she’s speaking candidly about what happens when society stops looking at women the same way.

The Czech-born model became a fixture in fashion and beauty, from back-to-back Sports Illustrated Swimsuit covers in 1984 and 1985 and a longtime partnership with Estée Lauder to a stint behind the judges’ table on America’s Next Top Model.

Keep ReadingShow less