Naomi Ackie just gave one of the bleakest examples of how colorism and anti-Black beauty standards still operate in Hollywood. While promoting Clayface, where she plays scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr opposite Tom Rhys Harries, Ackie answered a question about the most brutal criticism she had ever received about her appearance.

Her answer went somewhere much darker than the usual Hollywood story about weight, makeup or an unflattering camera angle. Early in her career, Ackie said she spent roughly a year auditioning while wearing her natural Afro hair and repeatedly failed to make it to the second round.

Her manager eventually suggested that her hair might be the problem and recommended wigs with a “softer” curl. Ackie immediately understood what she was being asked to do.

“Do you want me to look like I’m mixed race?” she asked. Her manager said yes.

Ackie was young, did not challenge her and bought the wigs. And then came the most depressing part of the story: it worked. Ackie said she began progressing further in auditions after changing her hair.

That is how discrimination can operate in an industry that congratulates itself for becoming more diverse. Casting executives may welcome Black actresses into the room, but too often they reward the women who soften, straighten, lighten or otherwise alter the features that most visibly mark them as Black.

Ackie can laugh about the absurdity now, but there is nothing particularly funny about a young Black actress discovering that altering her natural hair to appear more racially ambiguous improved her employment prospects. And she is far from alone.

Black Actresses Have Been Telling Hollywood This for Years

Chlöe and Halle Bailey have said casting decision-makers rejected their locs when they were children and told their agents that the sisters might have booked roles if they changed their hair. Nathalie Emmanuel has described how the industry pressured her to straighten her natural hair and treated straight hair and weaves as the safer route to getting work.

Zendaya has recalled straightening her hair for her Spider-Man: Homecoming audition because she assumed she would need to conform to expectations for a role not originally written for a Black actress. Lupita Nyong’o was once told she was “too dark” for television, while Anna Diop said a manager told her her complexion was too dark for consistent work.

Viola Davis has spoken about hiding behind wigs for years because she had internalised the idea that her natural hair was not beautiful enough. She later said embracing her natural hair felt liberating, after years of absorbing the message that tightly coiled Black hair was somehow less beautiful.

Naomi Ackie’s Success Does Not Erase What Hollywood Asked Her to Change

Naomi Ackie has already proved how much range she has. She played Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance with Somebody, starred in Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice, and has steadily built a career across film and television. Now she is stepping into the DC universe with Clayface, playing scientist Dr. Caitlyn Corr opposite Tom Rhys Harries as Matt Hagen.

Her success makes the story even more striking. Ackie eventually reached the point where she no longer had to alter her appearance to satisfy someone else’s idea of what a Black actress should look like. But that does not erase what she was asked to do on the way there. Black women should never have to make themselves look less Black to convince Hollywood they are worth casting.

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