Viola Davis Says Director Once Referred to Her by His Maid’s Name… ‘He Called Me Louise’

With the constant advancements and evolution of the world, its sad that the crusade for colored people is the furthest behind in development. Even in Hollywood there’s still a prehistoric perspective of systemic racism when dealing with black people. Prejudices like lack of diversity in roles, colorism, and A-List black actors being mistreated by executives.

It’s something that’s happening very frequently but rarely exposed because even the strongest and most popular black actors watch their beaks out of fear of retaliation. Thankfully courageous starlets like Viola Davis have openly spoke out about the racial issues of the industry. 

Viola Davis became the first black actress to win an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015, for her role in “How to Get Away With Murder” but that didn’t stop a white director from addressing her as if she’s was “the help” — and that’s NOT a reference to her Oscar nominated movie role. HE LITERALLY CALLED HER BY HIS MAID’S NAME!!!! 

During a Film Festival presented by Variety, Viola revealed a director once called her by his maid’s name. The Oscar and Emmy-winning performer opened up about Hollywood’s perception of Black actors and how the amount of roles she can play remains limited due to her skin color, even with all her accolades.

“I had a director who did that to me. He said, ‘Louise!’ I knew him for 10 years and he called me Louise and I find out that it’s because his maid’s name is Louise,” Davis said. “I was maybe around 30 at the time, so it was a while ago. But what you have to realize is that those micro-aggressions happen all the time.”

Davis even admitted with all the hype and awards she attached to “How to Get Away With Murder” — which was one of the only series led by a dark-skinned, Black woman on television during its six-season run — it still didn’t open many new doors for more TV opportunities for women who look like her. 

There is definitely a disconnect with the ideologies in Hollywood. It’s as though casting directors, and writers can’t see Black people being anything beyond gangsters, slaves or unprofessional. 

“A lot of it is based in race. It really is,” Davis added about industry biases. “Let’s be honest. If I had my same features and I were five shades lighter, it would just be a little bit different. And if I had blonde hair, blue eyes and even a wide nose, it would be even a little bit different than what it is now. We could talk about colorism, we could talk about race. It pisses me off, and it has broken my heart — on a number of projects, which I won’t name.” Viola also said she’s been denied roles the powers that be did not find her “pretty enough.”

Viola Davis played a supporting role in “Eat Pray Love,” starring Julia Roberts and she was great in her part. Yet, making a version of that same story with Viola in the lead role wouldn’t be of interest in Hollywood. “If I wanted to play a mother whose family lives in a low income neighborhood and my son was a gang member who died in a drive by shooting, I could get that made,” Davis said. “If I played a woman who was looking to recreate herself by flying to Nice and sleeping with five men at the age of 56 — looking like me, I’m going to have a hard time pushing that one, even as Viola Davis.”