Actress Stella Damasus highlights bias in African’s casting talent in

Nollywood actress Stella Damasus has openly discussed widespread prejudices and invisible challenges that are often encountered by African talent in Hollywood, advocating for more and more varied depiction of African talents and narratives.

Thepespian in this new video interview @arrowhouseentesticent said that one of the most significant obstacles to get the role of Hollywood was the pressure on African actors to neutralize or burn their accents to be in accordance with the predetermined role.

He claimed that regardless of the origin of the actors, Hollywood producers often “forced our people to wear certain accents,” often implying the voices of “East Africa”.

According to Damasus, insisting on a single “African accent” distorts authenticity and obscures the ins and outs of culture because Africa is a large continent with a variety of accents and dialects.

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“They are like, ‘No, there are certain accents that you must have.’ So that’s why they forced our people to use it. ‘Hey, my name … Have you ever come to this place?’ I am like, we don’t speak like that. “

In contrast to the depiction that is too stereotype of Africa which is sometimes displayed on the western screen, Damasus emphasizes that countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and others have different tones and accents.

“They said to me, ‘We want Africans to be very dark. That is the type of Africa that we usually do. We are not used to your African type.'”

“So, you are not dark enough. You are not bright enough to be half a caste. You are not a mixed race. Your accent is not heard America, England, or Africa. I am like, what do you think of African people?” He asked.