Author James Patterson said in a recent interview he believes white men are struggling to find employment in the entertainment industry, per The Sunday Times. Patterson attributed their struggle to racism. In the same conversation, he said he was disappointed that the Woody Allen memoir from 2020 was dropped from publishing.
Patterson said in the interview that jobs in film, theater and publishing are hard for white men to find. “What’s that all about? Can you get a job? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. It’s even harder for older writers. You don’t meet many 52-year-old white males,” he said, according to USA TODAY. Patterson was met with some backlash on social media by other authors.
Roxane Gay tweeted, “James Patterson of all people. First of all, write your own books pal.”
More from USA TODAY:
Major publisher Penguin Random House conducted a 2019-2021 diversity self-audit and found that 74.9% of its contributors in that period were white; only 6% were Black, while 5% were Hispanic or Latinx. The publisher’s employees also skewed heavily white, making up 74.2% of its workforce.
In 2020, the New York Times compiled its own data to determine just how white the publishing industry is and in their sample, 89% of the books written in 2018 were by white authors. A 2019 survey also found that 85% of the people who acquire and edit books are white.
To add more data, a McKinsey & Company report found the film and TV industry lose $10 billion every year by undervaluing Black films, filmmakers and executives. About 92 percent of film executives are white and 87 percent in television, reported The Associated Press.
Though big industries have given some initiative to highlighting Black voices, it doesn’t mean white voices no longer dominate those spaces. Jason Pinter, a thriller author who reacted to Patterson’s comments, echoed this point.
“I’ve been in editorial meetings where books by BIPOC writers were turned down because ‘we already have one,’” tweeted Pinter. “I respect everything James Patterson has done for indies and giving back to the industry, but his comments on race are false, hurtful, and beyond tone deaf.”