01x06 - Whitewashing

[bunniefuu]

Today, on "ziwe," I'll be talking about whitewashing.

Whitewashing is the process of altering in ways that favor,

Fifa fi

Feature or character. Hollywood has a long, storied

Tradition of whitewashing.

This is extraordinary.

But this phenomenon happens everywhere.

Everything from children's toys to pop culture.

A long, long time ago when I was really little, I got kicked

Out of school for having braids in my hair.

Even history gets why is washed.

Adam palli has played every time so I invited the hilarious actor

To the show. He talks about fashion faux pas.

Am I pulling it off a little?

What he does to feel better.

I get my hair braided.

And so much more.

I was a man not yet old.

And later, we talk to stacey abrams for even more insight.

So stay tuned. It's going to be iconic.

No one's going to save you.

I'm having a really good time.

"Ziwe" starts right now.

Joining me is comedian, actor, ally, and asset to the

White community, adam pally.

I don't know the white excommunity.

Thank you for being here.

Okay, cool. Oh no.

So, famously --

Yes.

This is a photo.

Okay.

That you're in. Explain how we got here, and is

This allyship to the black community?



Look at it. Look at it.

First of all, am I pulling it off a little?

With the hair off my face, you can see my face.

No. It was for a movie.

What movie?

Called "dirty grandpa."

Was it worth it?

Absolutely not. Nothing I've ever done was worth

That. But robert de niro was in that

Movie.

Yes.

And I really wanted to work with him before he died.

Oh my god, you can't say that, adam.

Before he died? He's still alive.

What?

Yeah. So, it sounds like it was worth

Appropriating my culture, thanks.

No.

Would you be willing to have your hair corn rowed again?

Absolutely not.

Absolutely not?

No way.

The person gets paid if you let them braid your hair so

You're taking food and money away from a hard-working

Stylist.

Could I pay the stylist and not get my hair braided?

How much cash do you have on you?

I have a venmo.

You can't venmo reparations, unfortunately.

You famously named your son drake after drake.

Yes.

Why?

He has a lot of good songs, a lot of bad songs.

What's a good song and what's a bad song?

I like "nonstop" -- is that the title?



Yeah, I love that.

That was a banger. That's a banger.

Yeah, he is the best jewish rapper.

Drake is --

He's like prince to me. Like he's a one -- drake has

More hits.

Hm. Next question.

You just walked right away from me when I said that.

Yeah, I did. If drake's name was daquon,

Would you name your son after him?

If he were the best jewish rapper.

Daquon pally. I love it.

Do I intimidate you, adam?

No, I like being with you. No.

I'm having a really good time. I'm having --

You're great.

I have a great time with you.

Let's continue. You've been known for acting out

At awards shows. Famously, I watched your shorty

Awards.

So excited to be presenting this glass vag*na.

I think a career highlight will be when I'm done.

I would describe that as a colorful expression of disdain.

I'm jealous of you, because I don't believe I could wild out

Like that.

Oh, I -- I think you'd be -- I think you could.

I regret -- I regret that. I was younger, and I --

How young?

.

So you would say you were a boy?

You were just boy a being a boy?

No. I was a man not yet old.

I -- um --

White privilege, what is that like?

It's the first time I ever experienced it.

It was the first time I ever experienced it.

White privilege.

In my head, you are the king of chaos.

White male chaos.

No.

Yes.

Like, I see this as antithesis.

No.

Because I have to be prim and proper, because I get described

As mean and angry.

Really?

Easily.

No.

Yes.

That sucks.

Thanks for telling me racism sucks.

You're welcome? I don't -- I don't want to be

That. I don't have -- I feel like

You're describing my joker energy.

I do not have that.



No, I can't. I don't.

Why do you keep looking at the cameras?

No one's going to save you. No one.

Really?

Next, on "ziwe."

What's the issue with reading a monologue?

It doesn't seem to be written in my voice.



The following film has been rated "w" for white nonsense.

This is the inspiring true story of a black woman who dared to be

Iconic.

We've got a great show for you today.

I'm interviewing kim jong un, who's sure to be an iconic host.

Famously, I'm your host, ziwe.

From the producers of "ghost in the shell," "aloha" and

Exodus, gods and kings.

I want to uplift other marginalized voices like mine.

I'm sorry but a dark-skinned girl like you is never going to

Make it in this town.



A person of color who never gave up on herself.

How many black friends do you have?

In the words of james baldwin, two.

So, you have been everywhere this year.

The cover of "ebony's who look under ."

"Time" magazine's african-americans.

And npr's sexiest urban intellectual.

So, how does it feel to be young, gifted, and black?

Thank you for having me, oprah.

Black lives matter.

Blue lives matter.

But ziwe wasn't just an entertainer.

She was a civil rights icon.

All lives matter.



Hold up. I can't endorse this problematic

Bullshit.

Sorry, ziwe, we took some creative liberties.

That's hollywood, baby. But you'll be paid $ million

For your life rights.

[ Bleep ]. My [ bleep ].

I'm ziwi. I'm african, and I think the

Real racism is against white people.

It's the movie "the new york times" is calling powerful,

Necessary, and accurate enough. This fall, tony award winner

Laura is ziwe. Iconic: the ziwe story.

Our black ancestors found this dream.

And we're sure zendaya wasn't available?

We're back. So you're a very talented

Comedic actor.

Thank you.

You're very, very funny. I'm going to give you a

Monologue and you just have to perform it the way you would,

And read it with heart and soul.

I don't want to do it.

You're my guest. Please.

I feel like --

What's the issue with reading a monologue?

It doesn't seem to be written in my voice.

Oh, I thought you were an actor.

Please. Adam.

Yeah. Um, all my life, I had to fight.

I don't think that --

Keep going.

I had to fight my daddy. I had to fight my uncles.

And I had to fight my brothers. I don't -- this --

Have you seen this movie?

Is --

You know this monologue is one of the iconic pieces of film

History. So, to not do it justice as an

Ally --

Girl, child ain't safe in a family of mens.

But I never thought I had to fight in my own house.

Scene.

Wow.

I don't --

Do you feel proud of taking a role from a black woman?

You didn't ask me to do it and I have my card here.

Instead, you read it.

Did you want to do it?

I did, but --

Do it.

No, the moment's passed. Let's play another game.

So, you and I are hollywood execs and we're casting the

Frederick douglass story,

Storstory, "ab storstory,

Story, "abolitionist."



So, that looks right to me. Is that --

Continue. There are no wrong answers, only

Wrong frames of mind.

So, then, I think I'd want this to be kind of like this.

Think you could do that?

So you want a black woman to take on an excessive amount of

Work.

Going back there.

Going back there. Continue.

So many talented actors. What, do you not like tilda

Swinton?

I do. I just grabbed her.

I love tilda swinton. Did someone say I didn't?

Because I love her.

We love her.

She's great.

sl*ve number four, tilda swinton.

This game is very hard. I feel like I shouldn't be

Playing it. Oh.

Wow.

You're not interested. You're not interested.

You're in charge, white man.

I like that.

Is that your final answer?

Yes.

Please sit down.

Well, my final answer is you taking on two roles.

Frederick douglass and madam c.j. Walker.

Emma watson playing barack obama.

Emma thompson.

Whatever.

How rude. That's white violence.

Emma --

No, that's roberts.

And then emma watson.

From "harry potter."

As nat turner. Now that I'm looking at it --

Tilda swinton as nat turner. Why not jacob or danny de vito.

I'm not assigned to one person and that is a travesty

Because right off camera, there is a stack of black actors but

You didn't even think to go beyond these head shots because,

Again, prejudice is abundant.

Did I miss them?

You did miss them. They're right off camera.

Right off camera. Yeah.

Yeah. Why don't you search.

Why don't you look for black people to elevate and uplift.

Oh, because it wasn't handed to me.

It wasn't -- a new yorker.

You have a --

What about the resill yent spirit of new yorkers says, hey,

I'm going to cast emma thompson as barack obama.

Offensive.

This is a nightmare.

Offensive.

This is a true nightmare.

No, it's not a trick. This is the reality we live in.

Yes, barack has been on stage. Wow.

Wow. And then I have to play a man

Because we like to -- we hypermasculine women, black

Women. Oh, her arms are beefy.

Oh, she has an angry voice. Oh, she walks with a certain --

The board is --

-- Step, you know? And racism is apparent, and I'm

Not saying that adam saul pally is a r*cist, but the evidence

Speaks for itself. And that's been the show.

Can I get that oprah thing off the thing?

That's been the show. Thank you, adam pally.

Thanks.

Have a good day.

Bye. Do I get out?

Yeah, leave.



Ow.

Oh no, he's hurt.



Hi. I'm ziwe.

If you want something done right, you got to do it

Yourself, but if you want something done white, well, you

Got to make a biopic and then sh**t it in a car.



Miss harriet say we got to go this a way.

There's the north star. We're on the path to freedom.

Freedom is about taking risks, and I can't take risks without

Knowing I have a sports bra that moves with me and my lifestyle.



As harriet tubman, I'm the sports bra that's high

Performing. I need it to stay with me as I'm

Crouching through the tunnels of the underground railroad.

My t*tties are free at last.

Michelle, this is so offensive.

Read your sketch.

Okay. I'm doing a quick little

Analysis if I will get in trouble for doing that.

Because I'm black, no, I won't.

The following is a conversation between ziwe and

Her complicit black writer.

Exterior, sl*very, night.

Let's just stop. What does exterior, sl*very

Mean?

I feel like the term sl*very is all encompassing of, like,

What exactly it is I'm seeing.

What exactly are you seeing?

Night. Dark.

Forest. Trees.

It's obviously a little cold. Or maybe it's hot.

I shall

I shmichelle, you are so problematic.

I'm sorry. I'm going to have to look in the

Mirror. I don't know why I winked.

I really don't know why I winked.

Let's continue.

Ziwe, I'm afraid of you.

Why am I so scary?

Because you're going to get me in trouble.

I'm going to get you in trouble?

I'm going to get -- the woman who wrote "massa says" says that

I'm going to get her in trouble. You know, I think this lesson

Here is that you can be black and anti-black.

I am pro-black. I know the national black

Anthem.

Sing it. Lift every voice and sing

Til earth and heaven ring ring with the harmony of

Liberty

Don't challenge me on this one.

Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies

Let it resound -- let us march on til victory is won

Hashtag, exterior sl*very. How about a movie about rosa

Parks? No?

How about a movie about rosa parks from the perspective of

The white bus driver? Yeah?

We got a deal? Hollywood, baby.

Yo, dude. I don't want to talk about it.

Okay, I'll talk about it. Don't teach you.

No one taught me. They don't teach you, no, no,

Life is cruel it's the white actor blues

Yo, fam, my name is drew, you might know me from my work in

Taming of the shrew, that's shakespeare if you ain't aware

But I'm tired of playing parts that are so darn square

I want to star in play where my talents can awaken, give me a

Chance to finally use my jamaican accent like brad pitt

In that movie that most people don't know exists

I want to star in a role where I rock gold chains on my neck or

On my feet like sl*very, acting in these roles would be so tight

But I can't go there because I'm white

It's not fair to you and your career

You can't pretend to sell drugs

They don't teach this in school, so please be aware, this

Is the white actor blues sh*t's stacked against me

This is the white actor blues

I feel you, drew, my name is leah, wish you knew from my

"West side story" playing maria but the execed told me I

Couldn't have the part, they were judging me by whiteness not

The size of my heart the musical's about a girl

Who's actually hispanic I hired a tutor and I actually

Learned spanish I want a chance for people to

See me as more than that really gifted girl from tv, I'm older

Now, I want to challenge myself but they don't write good songs

For white women who can really belt, I want to sing like effie

And celie in the color purple, add more to the equation but I

Can't do any of this because I am caucasian

It's not fair to you and your career

To know spanish never hear

They don't teach this in school, so please be aware

Just let me try it's the white actor blues,

It's so unfair it's so unfair



What's more challenging than being a black woman?

Being a white woman playing a black woman.



So, next, we'll be talking to novelist, politician, and voting

Rights activist, stacey abrams. Hello, leader abrams.

Hi, how are you?

So, my first question for you is, what do you think is more

r*cist, the filibuster or mitch mcconnell?

Is that a trick question?

Do you think that today's republican party is actually

Interested in governing, or are they just more concerned with

Collecting power like some sort of dystopian pyeongchang go?

I think that the republican party writ large has become so

Fixated on power, they forgot about their purpose.

This isn't about partisanship. It's not democrats versus

Republicans. It's republicans versus

Americans. And when republicans believe

Their ability to hold on to power requires the sublimation

Of other americans, that is bad, and republicans are better than

This. I've worked with them.

Some of my best friends are republicans.

Wow.

And my point is --

Brave.

And my point is, it's not enough to say you believe in

America when you don't believe in americans, and we need them

To stand up for americans and their rights to vote.

You have dedicated your career to making sure that every

American can vote. What do you say to people who

Look to you to save democracy every two years?

You know, if we could save it once and then just stop breaking

It, I would be very happy.

Does it make you uncomfortable that while

Uncomfortable that whiell-meani liberals consider you the patron

Saint of elections.

While I appreciate that, there's a bit of discomforture

When people personalize it. I'm going to disappoint folks.

I'm human and I'm in politics. It is in the fine -- I won't say

The fine print. It's in the headline.

I need people to recognize that I'm going to do something

They're not going to like and the challenge with putting

People so high on a pedestal is that creates a really long way

To fall.

Is the niki minaj feature about voter fraud in the sense

That it doesn't exist?

I have no idea what you're talking about.

Sorry.

What do you say to millennials, general

Millennials, gener z, zoomers, o see republicans and democrats as

Far right and center right parties who don't see themselves

Reflected with progressive politics.

I'm not saying they're wrong. I would say that we've got to

Remember that just as new generations come, that doesn't

Mean the old generations leave that quickly, and we're at this

Moment where we've got a whole lot of people.

To death?

We got a whole lot of people here who all think they know

What's right, and so the best way to make certain your voice

Is the predominant one is to use your numerical power.

There are a whole lot of gen zers and gen y, and if you guys

Came together, you could take us.

I want to talk about your book for a moment, "while

Justice sleeps." I hear that it's being turned

Into a tv show. Are you attempting to black wash

Hollywood?

I'm attempting to make sure hollywood is reflective of the

Broad spectrum available in our communities, coming to a

Television sit near you.

Governor kemp signed a law that has been labeled as jim

Crow . And he signed this in front of a plantation painting.

Is this story line too lazy?

I try my best to stay away from farce, and yes, it was

Completely on brand for him, and sadly, a poor choice.

Any time you use race as a predicate for denying access to

The vote, that is jim crow. That is wrong.

And it should be stopped.

Would you say that gerrymandering is republicans'

Way of whitewashing the voter rolls?

Gerrymandering is wrong, whether democrats do it or

Republicans, but in this case, it has been driven by trying to

Keep people of color from coming together in coalition to build

More power.

So, as far as activating the vote, I have a hit single

Called "make it clap for democracy."

Lady liberty, drop it low, drop it low for democracy.

Lady liberty, shake that a*s, shake that a*s for democracy.

Make it clap for democracy. Make it clap for democracy.

Make it clap for democracy. Make it clap for democracy.

Do you think that this will activate young voters?

I believe in meeting people where they are.

I campaigned at one music fest and dragon con.

I may not actually cite your lyrics in total but I would

Create a space for you to do what you can to bring democracy

To the masses. Make it clap for democracy

Make it clap for democracy

So, I guess my final question for you is, can a revolution be

Cast with a ballot or does it take bloodshed?

I would love to see us not necessarily have revolution but

Have an evolution where we leave this notion that power cannot be

Shared. In democracy, that's the whole

Point. I want us to get past this and

Get to fighting over things just because we don't like each

Other, not because race and gender and class are the reasons

We are embattled. I'd just rather dislike you for

Who you are.

"While justice sleeps." Stacey abrams, thank you so much

For coming on to the show. You are an icon.

This is our finale. Wow, wow, wow.

If you could just lean in. Yes.

And that is -- that is lady liberty leaning in, in realtime.

Thank you so much.

Ziwe, you're amazing.

Stop it. Women supporting women.

I love this. Martin had a dream.

Next verse. Sing a song full of the hope

That the something don't know sing a song

Beyonce didn't have this verse in "homecoming."

My ninja.

My ninja.

My ninja.



My