Zoë Kravitz has, more or less, grown up in the spotlight. As a child of verified rockstar Lenny Kravitz and child actress turned life muse Lisa Bonet, it was undeniable from the start that Zoë would end up one of the coolest kids in Hollywood. But it is extremely refreshing for her to also be so eloquent and so woke about the industry that she works in, and the need for change in how things are done.
In an amazing interview for Allure, the 28-year-old explains how she combats racist stereotypes in movies and television shows while bringing more colour to everyone's screens. "When you watch movies that take place in the future, and everyone's white, like Aryan nation. I'm just like, ‘Everyone's gonna be mixed in the future. What's wrong with you people?’"
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Kravitz describes what's it like to read a new script for a project; she immediately assumes every role is for a white actor. "As an actress, I get told all the time, ‘You can't have this role because you're Black’ — I mean, they don't say it like that, but…. When you read a script, usually they'll describe the character, and they won't put 'Caucasian' most of the time, but then when someone's meant to be Black or Asian or Indian, they'll put that in," she said. "So you're supposed to assume that everyone else is white. I don't feel bad about it. It makes me angry, and it makes me work harder. It doesn't make me not want to be the colour that I am, but when people think, okay, you should play this kind of role because of the colour of your skin, it's crazy."
She adds: "I think I have changed people's minds about roles. I've gotten roles that were for a white blonde. The best thing that we can do is try to teach people this doesn't have to be like that."
And we can't thank her enough for that.