Forbes Addressed the Lack of Diversity on Its Highest-Paid Actresses List
2017 has been a good year for diversity in film across the board. Moonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture; Jordan Peele’s directorial debut Get Out is the most profitable film of the year; and Girls Trip, a film starring four women of color, was the surprise hit of the summer. That being said, we still have a long way to go. Yes, we’ve made progress, but the majority of speaking roles in major motion pictures still go to white performers—specifically, white men.
And this explains why there are no women of color in the top 10 of Forbes magazine’s highest-paid actresses list this year. The publication released its annual list earlier this week, and people were quick to notice the lack of diversity. Check it out for yourself, below:
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Emma Stone—$26 million
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Jennifer Aniston—$25.5 million
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Jennifer Lawrence—$24 million
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Melissa McCarthy—$18 million
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Mila Kunis—$15.5 million
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Emma Watson—$14 million
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Charlize Theron—$14 million
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Cate Blanchett—$12 million
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Julia Roberts—$12 million
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Amy Adams—$11.5 million
Stone getting the top spot this year is a no-brainer; her performance in La La Land earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Lawrence, and Melissa McCarthy prove time and time again to be bankable stars, so their appearance isn’t a surprise. And Emma Watson did Beauty and the Beast this year, so, again, duh. But no actresses of color? How is that possible?
Like we said earlier, it’s the lack of roles. Forbes associate editor Natalie Robehmed confirmed this in a statement released yesterday.
“The lack of diversity on the list comes down to roles: Only 28.3% of all speaking roles across formats go to characters from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, according to a 2016 study,” she said, Cosmo reports. “That means there are simply fewer characters—and fewer high-paying roles—written for women of color. When studios, directors and screenwriters begin creating more main characters for women of color in the types of big budget movies that pay huge upfront fees and backend profits, we’ll see more actors of color on the list.”
Hollywood doesn’t have any more excuses for ignoring this issue. Many studio executives, I believe, used to think films about women and people of color were niche—but Get Out and Girls Trip dispel that completely. These films make money—and people want to see them. It’s time for the industry to wake up.