Viola Davis Says A Director Once Called Her “Louise” His Maids Name

Viola Davis says despite her status in Hollywood, she has experienced racism regularly, especially from one man who apparently referred to her as his hired help.

The Oscar-winning actress interviewed with Variety during the Cannes Film Festival about Women in Motion. She expressed the idea that regardless of her high level in the industry, there are certain challenges she has not overcome.

One of those barriers is getting scripts written for dark-skinned Black women as the lead actor, like a mid-aged darker Black woman in her ’50s who is going through a sexual awakening, she explained while also suggesting Hollywood is still very into stereotypes and “fits” when it comes to an actor’s appearance. In this case, she’s alluding to colorism, TMZ reported.

But, a shocking experience she discussed is about a longtime director she’s known and been friends with, who accidentally called her “Louise,” his maid’s name.

Viola did clarify the incident happened relatively early in her career but still feels those types of “microaggressions” happen too often.

Her main point is that Black actors simply aren’t given that great of material to work with, especially movie-wise that would be Oscar-worthy performances like their white counterparts. Well, that’s unless they’re roles that play into stereotypes and/or formulaic stories.