Lupita Nyong’o says she’s using the clout she has to be a part of the solution to the whole #OscarsSoWhite diversity issue in Hollywood.
“I think what we are asking for is really for more stories to be told—for inclusion in the stories that are told,” Nyong’o explained during an interview with the Today show.
“And I think it’s good for all of us when we hear a diverse number of stories and are able to experience more diversity. It’s more reflective of the world we live in. And so, I think that’s what we ultimately want is a diversity of stories to be told,” she continued.
And although she’s a relative newcomer to the acting industry, she says she’s using what little power she has to find, pitch and endorse projects that reflect diversity.
“I feel really grateful to be in the position that I find myself in, where I can find the little weight that I have to get stories that I feel are untold or yet to be told made and done,” she said.
She spoke about the Broadway play Eclipsed that she stars in and how that demonstrates what she hopes to do with several projects in the future:
“So, for example, with Eclipsed, this was something that I brought to the table, because it had moved me in a way that I wanted to perform it and share it with people. So I feel that’s the role that I can play.”
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Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.
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