Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Actor Sheryl Lee Ralph Opens Up About Being Fired From A Pilot For Not Being 'Black Enough'

Actor Sheryl Lee Ralph Opens Up About Being Fired From A Pilot For Not Being 'Black Enough'
Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Tony-nominated actor Sheryl Lee Ralph has revealed she was once fired from a television pilot for "not being Black enough."

65 year-old television and Broadway actor Sheryl Lee Ralph revealed she was a victim of racist casting back in the 1980s.


Ralph, famous for her breakthrough role in the Broadway musical Dreamgirls as well as her roles in Moesha and more recently the successful sitcom Abbott Elementary, told People magazine she was once fired by a producer for not being "Black enough."

She said:

"People's thinking was not very inclusive. You [had] directors who were still trying to tell you how to be Black."
"I was fired from a pilot because the producer told me I was 'not Black enough.'"
"Those were his words. It was horrible. I can still remember the way I felt."

Unfortunately, this isn't the only instance of racism Ralph has endured.

Last month, Ralph told The View she was once questioned about her ability to land a leading role in a romance due to her race.

She said:

"[I] had a memorable audition with a big casting director who looked at me and said, 'Everybody knows you're a beautiful, talented, Black girl. But what do I do with a beautiful, talented, Black girl? Do I put you in a movie with Tom Cruise? Do you kiss? Who goes to see that movie?'"

Ralph was then asked to reveal the name of the director who said this to her, but Ralph refused.

She said:

"Why bother? Look at me now."
"But I left that audition with some of the best ammunition. Everybody knew I was a beautiful, talented, Black girl and I should be in the movies with the likes of a 'Tom Cruise', and he should kiss me."

Twitter users are heartbroken over the overt racism Ralph and other Black actors face in Hollywood.










Ralph said she has tried to remain positive over the course of her 45 year career despite instances of racism she faced in Hollywood.

She said:

"It's all about the lens that you see through."

More from Trending

Screenshots from @niyamonroee's TikTok video
@niyamonroee/TikTok

Bride Fights Back Tears As Late Mom's Final Voicemail Plays During Wedding In Emotional Video

When attending someone's wedding, there are always going to be guests who wonder if the bride or groom will end up crying during the ceremony, but most do not expect the happy couple to make their friends and family cry.

But that's exactly what bride Aniyah Gordon did when she played a voicemail that she had saved, dating back to 2021, that she had received from her late mother, who died from a heart attack at the age of 41.

Keep ReadingShow less
Trace and Miley Cyrus; Billy Ray Cyrus

Steve Granitz/WireImage; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Billy Ray Cyrus' Son Says Family Is 'Genuinely Worried' About Him After Trump Inauguration Performance

If you were put off by country star Billy Ray Cyrus's performance at Donald Trump's inauguration, you are not alone—Cyrus's son Trace is sincerely concerned by his father's latest chapter.

Following Cyrus's disastrous performance at the even, Trace took to social media to write an open letter to his estranged father to say that he and his siblings Noah and, of course, Miley, are "genuinely worried" about their father.

Keep ReadingShow less

People Describe Their Worst Experiences At A Sleepover

I miss sleepovers.

They were a highlight of my life, not just my childhood... but my entire life.

Keep ReadingShow less
A newly married couple
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

People's Best 'I'm Married To A F*cking Idiot' Stories

We all have our not-so-smart moments where we wonder where our common sense ran off to.

But sometimes a person will do something so stupid, that we struggle to imagine how we could be friends with, let alone be married to, a person who could make a mistake like this.

Keep ReadingShow less