Who Protects Black Actors and Actresses After Diverse Casting Decisions?
Diversity must be more than a surface-level
The announcement that Francesca Amewudah-Rivers, a Black British actress, would play the leading role in Jamie Lloyd's production of Romeo & Juliet last spring was met with a storm of racist backlash. "I received death threats, hate mail sent to the theatre," and "I didn't feel safe at work," she revealed in an interview published in The Stage, describing her experience. The racist critique that a Black woman should never be cast to play Juliet contributed to a hostile work environment. While production companies are often praised for their diverse casting decisions, we should ask who protects Black actors and actresses in the aftermath.
In a society where Black women are routinely attacked for not living up to European beauty standards, what measures should be taken after announcing that a Black woman will play a leading role? The colorblind approach, which assumes the race of the individual actor or actress won't matter, leaves them vulnerable to attack. For instance, in the case of Amewudah-Rivers, she was cast to play the role of Juliet, a character typically portrayed as a White woman. The production company could have anticipated racist resistance because of the prevalence of these attitudes among the public. There was no need to wait until the floods of racist commentary washed away constructive discourse about the play to bring out the sandbags.
The Jamie Lloyd Company took a stand against the "deplorable racist abuse online directed toward" their leading actress. Yet, their messaging revealed shock and awe that this had taken place. However, according to Amewudah-Rivers, this backlash could, to some extent, be expected: "I know what it means to move through life in a black body. Racism is something we have to navigate every day, so I was very aware of the potential for something like this to happen." What did catch the actress off guard was the duration and persistence of their attacks. The leading actress told The Stage, "I think what I was unprepared for was how long it went on for, and also having to navigate it while doing the job. It was four months of battling against this energy, and it's something I still have to deal with. I really had to reckon whether it was worth it, this sustained feeling of duress."
Enduring racism isn't part of the job description, and it's certainly not something that production companies pay Black actors and actresses more for enduring. Indeed, since the actual production company is not the one accused of perpetuating racism, they likely feel no responsibility toward the outcome. After all, it's some of their fans and online agitators who are sharing racist opinions and sending hate mail, not employees. And it's much more challenging to hold an unruly mob accountable than those working for a production company. Nevertheless, if casting directors know that hiring a Black actor or actress could trigger outrage, they should consider what level of support the company is willing to provide to mitigate harm. A "sustained feeling of duress," as Amewudah-Rivers experienced, shouldn't be written off as business as usual. This type of racist bullying may deter Black actresses from playing such roles, limiting their representation in performing arts as the outrage may take a toll on their health.
The best way to fight racism is through solidarity, as Bobby Seale, the co-founder of the Black Panther Party, once suggested — this is precisely the strategy many Black actors and actresses embraced after learning about racist attacks on Amewudah-Rivers. Eight hundred eighty-three performers signed a letter in solidarity, condemning the racist abuse inflicted upon the actress, referring to the discrimination as "a familiar horror that many of us Black dark-skinned performers have experienced." In the letter, they noted, "Too many times, Black performers — particularly Black actresses are left to face the storm of online abuse after committing the crime of getting a job on their own." The group felt they needed to respond, as "this racist and misogynistic abuse directed as such a sweet soul has been too much to bear." In this case, the black community of actors and actresses offered support.
Their remarks are a reminder that while Black people are not the cause of racism, they're the ones who're made to carry the burden of experiencing it. Due to no fault of her own, Amewudah-Rivers was repeatedly insulted and threatened simply for taking a role that casting directors felt she would be a good fit for. The constant racist bullying impacted her ability to work, ultimately leading her to question whether her efforts on set were worth taking the role. More should be done to ensure Black actors and actresses are treated with respect. Production companies can help by raising awareness of the historical and modern-day discrimination racial minorities face. Ensuring more people understand how bias impacts their preferences for actors and actresses may mitigate backlash. While a production company cannot stop racists from disapproving of diverse casting decisions, they do have the power to move past shock and awe and address the problem of racist backlash pre-emptively.
And yet, we're seeing why diversity must be more than a surface-level ambition for a production company. Simply including a Black actress doesn't will not dissipate the racism in society because the problem is systemic. Within UK films, for instance, 80% of historical/period dramas do not have a Black actor or actress playing a named role. Even though Black people have always played a significant role in British life, racial discrimination has limited their representation. And any effort to include more Black actresses and actors is met with racist critique. In response to the backlash to her playing Juliet, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers is now calling for an industry-wide response, arguing, "It is not enough to represent our communities onstage; there also needs to be an infrastructure of support." She noted that "Safety has to be at the forefront. We can't do our best work if we don't feel safe, if we don't feel held if we don't feel understood."
Casting Black actors and actresses without providing them with the support they need does a disservice to the work they're trying to accomplish. As novelist Toni Morrison suggested, "the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work." Production companies serious about embracing a diverse set, not just in appearance but in values, should carefully consider the steps they must take to provide a safe working environment for Black actors and actresses. To ensure that racist members of the public don't take away from their efforts. The goal of racists taunting Amewudah-River was to make her feel rejected despite earning the lead role in a high-profile West End production. And despite her continuing to play Juliet, they're bullying made her job unnecessarily difficult, burdened by the bigotry of others. Looking ahead, production companies, and organizations more broadly should consider that diversity must be more than surface level — it must be accompanied by a system of support.
References
Chambers, K. (2024, September 18). Francesca Amewudah-Rivers: I got death threats on Romeo and Juliet — I felt unsafe. The Stage. https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/francesca-amewudah-rivers-i-got-death-threats-on-romeo-and-juliet--i-felt-unsafe
Goodreads. (n.d.). A quote by Toni Morrison. Goodreads. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/3228728-the-function-the-very-serious-function-of-racism-is-distraction
Hoyes, M. (2016, December 16). Infographic: The true picture for black actors in the UK film industry. BFI. https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/black-actors-british-film-industry-statistics
Khomami, N. (2024a, April 10). "too much to bear": Black Actors Condemn Racial Abuse of Romeo & Juliet Star. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/10/too-much-to-bear-black-actors-condemn-racial-abuse-of-romeo-juliet-star
Khomami, N. (2024b, September 18). Black actor who faced abuse over role in Romeo & Juliet calls for industry-wide action. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/sep/18/black-actor-francesca-amewudah-rivers-racist-abuse-romeo-juliet-industry-action
Legaspi, A. (2024, April 10). "Romeo & Juliet" star receives support from over 800 black actors decrying "racist and misogynistic abuse." Rolling Stone. https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/francesca-amewudah-rivers-romeo-and-juliet-online-racial-abuse-open-letter-1235001834/
Luckhurst, G. (2024, August 21). The Stage Debut Awards 2024: Elvis Costello and Francesca Amewudah-rivers among nominees. The Stage. https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/the-stage-debut-awards-2024-elvis-costello-and-francesca-amewudah-rivers-among-nominees
McNab, K. (2024, September 20). "Romeo & Juliet" star received death threats: "I didn't feel safe at work." Teen Vogue. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/romeo-and-juliet-francesca-amewudah-rivers-received-death-threats-racist-abuse-i-didnt-feel-safe-at-work
Ntim, Z. (2024, April 5). London theatre slams "deplorable" racist abuse over casting of 'romeo & juliet' production starring Tom Holland . Deadline. https://deadline.com/2024/04/tom-holland-francesca-amewudah-rivers-racist-abuse-the-duke-of-york-theatre-jamie-lloyd-company-1235876799/
Ottesen, K. (2020, July 28). Bobby Seale of the Black Panthers: 'You cannot fight racism with racism. You have to fight it with solidarity.' https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/bobby-seale-of-the-black-panthers-you-cannot-fight-racism-with-racism-you-have-to-fight-it-with-solidarity/2020/07/27/c4042aec-bfa6-11ea-9fdd-b7ac6b051dc8_story.html
Originally published on September 24, 2024, in Cultured.
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Black people might feel similarly about this decision if an all-white production of "Porgy and Bess" was ever staged. However, the thing about Shakespeare is that he rarely explicitly states the race or gender of his characters (with some exceptions) in his stage directions, so they can potentially be played by anyone who wants to do it....