Amandla Stenberg says she passed on a role in Marvel Studios blockbuster Black Panther because her skin wasn’t dark enough. Her remarks caused controversy on Black Twitter, particularly from biracial and mixed race women.
Stenberg, 19, says she was offered the role of Shuri, which eventually went to dark skinned sista Letitia Wright.
Speaking at ESSENCE‘s Black Women in Hollywood event, the former child star said she decided not to take the role of the technologically advanced Shuri in the majority black casted film.
“I was in the audition process for it, then I decided to not continue with the process because I thought that it wouldn’t be right for me as a biracial, light-skinned American to be playing [the role],” she told ESSENCE.
She added: “It wasn’t appropriate for me to go after that role. Black Panther is one of the only films that we have that has darker-skinned representation. That’s what was so beautiful about it.”
Her comments didn’t sit well with mixed race women who consider themselves to be black. Dark skinned women also had a problem with Stenberg’s remarks, saying colorism is alive and well in Hollywood.
Photo by Mike Windle/Getty Images
