Viola Davis: “I’ll Never Play A Maid Again”
As an acclaimed black woman in film, Viola Davis is saying no more to playing an oppressed black soul! I hear that!
Last year, the actress received a lot of backlash from her depiction in the film, The Help. Undeniably a great read and even greater film, Davis played a character of a black maid who viewers watched come into her own. Accusations from the black community suggested that the role was setting black people back half a century.
Due to the controversy, and realizing that she has “been there, done that and DOES not need to go back” (2 snaps), our beloved Viola is desisting any upcoming roles as a maid, aside from her latest film, Beautiful Creatures (in theaters February 14th). In the upcoming film, Davis plays a character named Amma, who is both a maid and librarian.
“As soon as I saw that Amma was a housekeeper, my radar went up because of ‘The Help,’” Davis tells Eurweb.com. “I said, ‘I can’t be another housekeeper.’”
She also told CNN: “I’m tired of that. Me and Octavia [Spencer], Aunjanue Ellis, Roslyn Ruff — we all played maids in The Help and it was fabulous. It’s a fabulous story because we were personalized and all of those things, but I think that people need to see an African-American in the 21st century integrated in the life of this town and family who’s not in servitude.”
I couldn’t agree more! It’s vital to have our African American entertainers aware of their platform and depictions. Viola Davis taking a stand will hopefully cast a domino effect on other black entertainers.
What do you think, Clutchettes? Do you agree with Viola Davis’s decision?
-Nikki B.
I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. She says she’s done playing the servant roles but she’s still playing someone who’s a maid?? Black women HAVE surpassed the maid roles in significant ways (Halle, Zoe, Gabrielle, Jada etc..) So I’m not understanding why she keeps accepting these roles? She has such a strong demeanor onscreen I’d like to see her branch out more before she’s pigeon holed into always being the “help.”
She is type cast. You can audition for anything but what role you are hired for is out of your control.
I refused to pay to see this movie because I didn’t want to see yet another movie about the virtuous, proud maid, who gallantly serves white people. When the film first came on cable, I refused to watch it but when it came on again, I watched it rolling my eyes the entire time. I don’t get why this movie was so wonderful It was predictable and I couldn’t stand to see Viola in this role. Besides, the movie didn’t belong to her – it was Octavia Spencer, who stole the show. I loved her take no stuff role. She was doing what she had to do. If Hollywood wants to continue to make maid stories, then let’s see the story when the maid’s children become successful professionals – many black women toiled to send their children to college – now that’s the story I want to see!!
I hear that! …I purposely didn’t see the movie after reading the book….and I rolled my eyes through the entirety of the book once I realized it was typical white liberal nonsense, a way to deal with racism with kid gloves on, while still maintaining the white savior theme. Interestingly enough, there was a younger maid in the book who was described as “talking white” and the protagonist feared her the most because of her apparent education…I always wondered if they explored that character in the movie….
she is a black big lipped wide nosed woman. (in my opinion beautiful) but lets be realistic. how many roles are out there for woman like her.