John Leguizamo Calls Out Colorism In Hollywood, Says He Avoided Sun For Fear Of Losing Roles
deadline.comJohn Leguizamo is opening up about his experience climbing the Hollywood ladder, including the modifications he made in his own life to avoid becoming too tan.
This as roles for white Latinos continue to dominate in both the big and small screen today, with the industry mostly ignoring those in the community who are mestizo, Black and Asian, among others.“There’s colorism within Latin culture that we have to fix, but there’s colorism in Hollywood too,” Leguizamo told Nick Barili in his new series in collaboration with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.He continued, “I’ve benefitted from being light skin, and I stayed out of the sun so I could work.
I definitely would not go in the sun. For years I was so pasty so I could work. All the Latinos who’ve made it so far, a lot of them were light-skinned.
What happened to all the Afro Latinos and the majority of the indigenous Latinos? They don’t get a shot.”Leguizamo began his career in the 1980s as a stand-up comedian before starring in (and often producing, writing and directing) projects for TV, film and theater.
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