Awkwafina: Diversity isn’t a trend

OHMYGOSSIP — Awkwafina thinks there has been a “progressive shift” in Hollywood.
The ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ star doesn’t feel diversity on screen is just a “trend” as she believes its becoming the norm and she feels “very lucky” to have been a part of some inclusive projects.
She said: “I think that there’s a progressive shift in Hollywood right now.
“People’s diversity is not a trend. Diversity is something that’s just here to stay. The projects that I have been in were very reflective of that and I’m very lucky to have been on those sets.”
The 29-year-old star is proud to inspire young Asian women and hopes when she has a family of her own, her children never have to question why they are lacking public role models.
She told the Hollywood Reporter: “At my first show at Sarah Lawrence College back in like 2013, I was doing a lot of soul searching as to what this career would be, what it would evolve into.
“And there was a young Asian girl who came up to me. She was so nervous to meet me, almost as nervous as I was to meet her, and she reminded me of what I looked like in college with all of the insecurities.
“She told me, ‘Thank you for existing, because if you didn’t exist, I wouldn’t know that it was possible.’ It was a moment that said there is a bigger reason for Awkwafina.
“When I’m older, when I have kids, [I hope] they’re so spoiled with representation that they never have to ask why there are no Asians on TV or why there are no women on this show. And I think that’s the real reason for me to keep going.”
Ahead of International Women’s Day on Friday (08.03.19), the ‘Ocean’s 8’ star called on women to be “brave” and stand up for themselves.
“As a woman we’re taught to be a lot of things, we’re taught to be very small.
“That’s been at the crux of the feminist movement. I think that it’s really important for women to be brave.
“Man or woman, you’re going to be faced with some kind of obstacle and I realised very early on that no one is going to help you pick yourself up. That’s going to be you. It takes strength, it takes courage, it takes bravery and it’s something that you have to teach yourself. It takes a certain stance to not allow yourself to be blown away.”

Source: IconInsider.com
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