Jessica Alba Rips Marvel Movies For Being Too 'Caucasian,' This Star Disagrees
By Favour Adegoke on July 23, 2022 at 2:00 PM EDT
Actress Jessica Alba thinks that Hollywood still has a long way to go regarding diversity and representation in mainstream media. Alba is a very successful actress, with credits in big films like "Fantastic Four" and "Sin City," but she says that she experienced a lot of difficulty as a Latina in the industry.
Alba also spoke about how big franchises like Marvel are very caucasian and said that it was already very bad before Disney acquired the studios. Marvel actress Jameela Jamil was one of many who commented on Alba's statements, and she disagreed.
Jamil accepted that there is still room for growth at Marvel, Disney, and the whole industry. However, she insisted that Marvel has gone further than any other franchise and studio in terms of diversity and changed representation in the film industry. Read on to find out more.
Jessica Alba Spoke On Her Experiences As A Latina Actress
Before Alba left acting to become the CEO of the Honest Company, she scored several huge acting credits in films like "Little Fockers," "Fantastic Four," and its sequel, "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer." She worked hard, became a rising star actress, and earned several awards for her excellent performances.
Despite all her success, Alba has severally said in the years since that she found it very difficult to win lead roles and get noticed as a Latina in the industry. In her recent interview with Glamour UK, the actress said she believes there is still a lot of improvement to be made regarding diversity in the Hollywood entertainment industry.
She Thinks There Is Still Room For Improvements
During the interview, Alba spoke about how people in the industry don't care about diversity and representation. She said, "Yeah. It's a business initiative for people now that they realize how much money they can make. It's something they care about, which is fine."
She continued, "How they get there really doesn't matter. You're like, 'Great. Now you realize there's a whole group of folks that you just frankly left out of the conversation because you just didn't even see them. They were there the whole time. And I guess it's the people in charge."
"However they get there, it really genuinely doesn't matter," she explained, "I just think more for the younger people who are coming up, who are going to be our future leaders, it's important for them to see the world on screen, or in stories, in the dreams that we create as entertainers; it reflects the world that they're in."
Jessica Alba Said Marvel Is Still Quite 'Caucasian'
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Alba also directed her ire at the major movie franchises. She said, "Even if you look at the Marvel movies — that's the biggest driver of fantasy and what's happening right now in entertainment, because it's sort of the family thing — it's still quite Caucasian."
The "Dark Angel" actress also recalled being "one of the few back in the day," referring to her position as one of the few Latina actresses in the industry at the time. Alba played the role of Sue Storm on the wildly successful "Fantastic Four."
She also referenced the 2009 Marvel sale to Disney, saying that the sale did nothing to make the lack of diversity better. She said, "And it was before Marvel was sold to Disney, but it's still quite… more of the same."
Jameela Jamil Commented On Alba's Statements
Jameela Jamil, the actress who is set to make her Marvel debut in the series, "She-Hulk: Attorney at Law," also commented on a tweet by Variety that reported Alba's statements on diversity and representation.
https://twitter.com/jameelajamil/status/1550221504758968320?s=20&t=C-VdW_VtJ_SBROI-0kx1VQ
She tweeted, "I think one can say there is always room for improvement everywhere, but I would say Marvel are *way* ahead of everyone else in diversity and it has changed beyond recognition in the past 10 years. Just saying. Black Panther, Ms Marvel, Shang Chi, and She Hulk come to mind."
Many fans agreed with Jamil's statements, insisting that films like "Black Panther," "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," and the Disney plus series, "Ms. Marvel," have all featured actors of color. Black actor Anthony Mackie is also taking over the role of Captain America in the Avengers, which many people are calling a huge win for diversity and representation in Hollywood.
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