Theron's "You're Hot As Shit" Comment Brings Up Issues Two-Fold

The 2012 Oscar season was a heavyweight championship fight. With incredible nominees like George Clooney, Meryl Streep, and Kenneth Branagh, any winner was going to be a deserving one. Among those included in an unprecedented “Best Actress in a Leading Role” category was Viola Davis.  Davis is a cherished treasure of stage and screen, earning Tony, Golden Globe, and Academy Award nominations for roles in “Fences” and “Doubt.” However, she had never been offered a starring turn in a major motion picture. Then, in 2010, came “The Help,” a film adaptation of the novel that followed the plight of the African-American maids in 1962 Mississippi. Davis’ performance was widely acclaimed, and in an interview with “The Daily Beast,” which included other Oscar nominated actors of that year, the interview noted with shock that this was Davis’ first leading role.

Davis explains that the roles available in Hollywood just do not cater to her.“I’m a 46-year-old black woman who really doesn’t look like Halle Berry, and Halle Berry’s having a hard time.” 

Davis is then swiftly interrupted by Charlize Theron, seemingly coming to her defense.

“Okay, I’m gonna have to just stop you there for a second…You have to stop saying that because you’re hot as shit. You look amazing.”

Theron’s well-intentioned comment caused a bit of a media firestorm, with critics saying that despite her good intentions, she came off sounding misguided and offensive.

In a follow-up article in The Daily Beast, author Allison Samuels recognizes the sheer struggle of being someone of Davis's skin color and age making a successful career in Hollywood.

“Davis’s work has been consistently stellar throughout her career, yet her most celebrated role to date may just be that of a maid to a white family during the ‘60s in the Deep South. Some viewed The Help as another stereotypical representation of black life, but Davis still found a way to shine in her work. Diverse and well-defined parts such as the ones Theron enjoys – a ruthless killer in one film, a dying woman in love in another – aren’t offered to Davis, nor are well-paid endorsement deals with Christian Dior.”

“In the world Davis lives in, you take a role like the one of Aibileen in The Help because you’ve long given up on the notion that more balanced, nuanced parts about women who look like you are on the horizon.”

What I took away from this interview was a mix of what has already been said, but perhaps more disturbing points as well. Theron’s comment not only brought into light the plight of black actresses, but the plight of actresses. It highlights the ugly truth that 99% of the faces gracing our movie theaters and television screens are beautiful ones, or rather, what our society has defined as conventional beauty. No doubt the point of Theron’s comment was to assure that Davis’ that she was beautiful. But it also carries the sentiment that Davis is beautiful enough to be a Hollywood actress. What if she didn’t have flawless skin? What if she didn’t have a killer smile? What if she wasn’t in great shape? Davis’s concerns also deal with the type of black actress gets work. Halle Berry is not only a beautiful African-American actress, but a beautiful African-American actress who is light-skinned. If you think of the successful black actresses of the past decade, who pops into your mind? Halle Berry. Zoe Saldana. Kerry Washington. Queen Latifah. Thandie Newton. See a trend here?

In the same interview, Clooney brings up the point that the executives who ultimately make the decision whether or not a movie is going to get made or not (lovingly called “the suits” in the business), have an outdated perception that does not actually reflect the full demographic of the movie industry.

“In general…the people who make these decisions always sort of aim for the lowest common denominator and think ‘well, the audience won’t get it. I get it, but the audience won’t get it, ‘cause they’re dumb.’…and the same thing has happened with film, which is—there becomes this idea, this narrative that says ‘well, you know, it’s gonna be, you know, 13 to 30-year-old white men,’ which is the target…well, there’s actually…an audience for all of this, we’ve just forgotten it.”

It’s impossible to hear these things, especially in the year 2012, and not be daunted by it. That someone of Viola Davis’ talent hasn’t been able to go blow for blow with Meryl Streep every year because she has struggled to find roles is mind boggling. That Viola Davis probably hasn’t hit the same success as Halle Berry because she is not light-skinned and as “beautiful” as she is makes me want to punch a wall. How can these things that have slowly, but surely improved in our society still be such a factor in the entertainment industry?

One poignant thought that Davis ends the interview with is, unfortunately, something every actress has to remind herself of: “Everybody has a story…and that’s what we go to the theatre for. We want to see a human event. That’s it.”