Hollywood has had a bigotry problem forever and representation has been scarce. And to make matters worse, when voices from ethnic minority groups are elevated others are often stifled. Take, for example, actress Rosie Perez, who is an Afro-Latina of Puerto Rican descent. Afro-Latinx are often relegated to the shadows as their whiter counterparts are elevated. This has been the case for Rosie Perez, who was the go-to Latina in the 90s. Rosie recently told Variety that she hasn’t been invited back to attend the Oscars or present an award since her 1994 nomination for Fearless. This is Despite being a member of the Academy and being enthusiastically supportive of her peers. Rosie says the bigotry of Hollywood has held back her career. This year’s Oscars has only four categories out of 23 with Latinx representation and that is appalling. Rosie’s experience is just the tip of the iceberg. Below are a few excerpts of Rosie’s interview with Variety:
“Not even to sit in the audience, not to present, nothing—and I’m a member,” Perez says. “I love the Academy Awards. I cheer on my peers, but it hurts. It’s like when your home team doesn’t ask you to come back into the stadium after you got up to bat and hit the home run.”
Perez, who is of Puerto Rican descent, describes a feeling that many Latino artists have experienced in Hollywood. Even those who are as accomplished as she, aren’t given a seat at the table.
“The biggest struggle has been navigating through other people’s shortcomings,” Perez says. “Other people’s bigotry, racism — and specifically the ones that don’t understand that they are bigots or racists.”
At this year’s Oscars, only four of the 23 categories — Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc and Carlos Cortés in sound (“Sound of Metal”), Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibañez in documentary feature (“The Mole Agent”) and Shaka King in picture and original screenplay (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) — had any form of Latino representation.
“Yes, change is happening, but it’s too damn slow,” Perez says.
Perez says she was ready to stand up for herself when she signed on to HBO Max’s “The Flight Attendant.” But she was pleasantly surprised that the producers had planned ahead, supplying her with makeup that matched her skin tone, options for eyelashes and pants that fit her correctly. “I’m a full-figured woman and proud of it. In the past, I would have to ask, ‘Why can’t I get different pants that are going to fit my big f-king ass?’”
Rosie was one of my favorite actresses and dancers in the 90s. I enjoyed watching her as a Fly Girl on In Living Color and I loved listening to her heavy Brooklyn accent in every movie she played in. But don’t get it twisted, Rosie had range and it sucks that her career never fully got off the ground. It really irritates me that Afro-Latinx, especially those with darker skin, are constantly being erased from the experience of being Latinx.
Hollywood has always had a bigotry problem. A report came out several months ago that stated that Hollywood loses over $10 billion dollars every year because they undervalue and underestimate Black actors and exclude them from sitting at the table. At some point, Hollywood will need to acknowledge that they are the PR arm of white supremacy so that we can all get on with it.
As for Rosie I am happy to hear that she has had steady but low key work all of these years. I love reading that she feels supported by the producers on The Flight Attendant. I appreciate how Rosie talks about the microaggressions that BIPOC face on set, specifically Black women, as it pertains to makeup, hair and clothing. It also really irks me that Rosie has never been invited back to the Oscars since her nomination in 1994. I guess the Academy had its token for that year and was done with Rosie afterwards. Hollywood does like to pat itself on the back for how open and tolerant it is until you start crunching the numbers and the sh*t doesn’t add up.
photos credit: Avalon.red, Getty and via Instagram
Afro-Latins representation in Hollywood is appalling. Latinos come in all shades, all hair types and all eye colours, but Hollywood only pushes forward the ones with European features. I would like to say that it’s just a Hollywood problem, but I remember from my brief time living in the DR that in tv as a child I mostly saw white Dominicans as tv presenters and if any black Dominicans were hosting it was mostly males. Meaning that colorism, racism, and public shaming of being black are worldwide.
I would love to be educated – the article mentions eyelashes that fit her correctly. Can someone help me understand what this means? I read somewhere that nowadays every single actress wears false lashes. But I don’t know more than that. Was she not given lashes that worked for her face, or ???
Rosie has a smaller and hooded eye shape which requires and shorter lash to look and fit properly on her eyes. Most makeup artists carry lashes for those with almond shaped eyes and cut the lashes to fit other eye shapes. Unfortunately as someone with hooded eyes that doesn’t work and it has taken me years to find the perfect lash. So it is definitely a big deal
Rosie was and is the best.
Agreed
Didnt they make HER apologise to Kelly Osbourne after Kelly made the statement about Mexicans cleaning toilets?
yep
Rosie was one of my favourites, and her accent is more than just Brooklyn, it is pure, iconic, Rosie Perez. I often feared she had fallen under Weinstein’s smear campaign, because she sort of disappeared. I wish we could give her a restart in a fairer world. O
That is crazy! As a member and a nominee, she absolutely should have been invited.
Kate Hudson goes pretty much every year and she was a 1 time nominee too. And lots of people who have never been nominated are often asked to present.
She’s a great talent and it’s so shitty to know that she hasn’t been invited in decades. Throughout Latin American countries, favoring and promoting European features has been a long-standing problem. I’m Mexican-American (my dad is from Mexico and half my family still lives there). You see it on tv and in print in both Mexico and the US. I’m the morena (dark one) between me and my younger sister and was always made to feel like less than in countless ways because of my skin color. It’s always hard to put all of these complicated feelings/experiences into words.
I can’t believe she hasn’t been asked since 1994. That’s insane. Insanely wrong. What a royal trash heap Hollywood is. And all the white actors and business men and women working within, and around, this entertainment industry’s orbit sweeping this kind of shit under rugs are despicable. Sickening. We’re hearing about this in 2021? And it’s been happening to this actress since 1994? What the holy f@ck?!
Side note – The Flight Attendant is SO GOOD
It was my favorite show of 2020. I can’t wait to see what happens to Rosie’s character.
I really enjoyed it, and like her character’s storyline.
Hollywood certainly has a problem with representation, but there are a lot of people who don’t get invited to the Oscars. She’s mostly worked in television for the last 20 years, so this doesn’t really seem that strange.
Bums me out in a truly dispiriting way that a talent like Rosie Perez is pleased to be treated respectfully with costumes that fit and makeup that matches her skin tone when THAT IS THE JOB OF PRODUCTION. That is baseline what they’re SUPPOSED to be doing. There is so much institutionalized racism that I really do feel like Hollywood should just get burned to the ground and rebuilt.
It isn’t talked about really at all in conversations about diversity but Latinos are massively underrepresented in Hollywood. They make up a huge portion of our population and have a smaller share of starring roles than other minority groups who have a smaller proportion of the population. I wish when diversity and inclusion are discussed that Latinos went always left out of the mix.
I have loved Rosie since she was on ‘Soul Train’ in the 80s! She’s a bad-ass, super talented, kind as hell, and hysterical. I want more Rosie!!
I just finished The Flight Attendant yesterday and I loved Rosie’s portrayal of Megan. I also just think she’s legit awesome and part of New York’s dance music history. This makes me really bummed to hear, although sadly not surprised. I’m glad she’s speaking out and I won’t support the academy (who were on thin ice for me anyhow) until I see more positive change. I love the arts and really hope this gets better quickly.
there’s a great new doc on Rita Moreno that covers this too, another incredibly inspiring, gifted, wise woman who dealt w so much w such grace. Our culture is just brutal…
She deserved to get more quality roles. She is a firecracker of an actress! Steals every scene!
She is rocking that Siriano dress. Good to see. Have always found Rosie delightful. I was so happy when she popped up in Flight Attendant.
I also notice her on Soul train, multitalented great actress She was robbed of a nomination foe White Men can’t jump. Love her now I’ll check out Flight Attendant!