Good morning! RFK Jr. ends COVID vaccine recommendation for pregnant women, NPR sues Trump, and Fortune’s Ellie Austin on a new documentary examining the obstacles Black women face in Hollywood.
– Leading ladies. Less than 4% of today’s top-grossing films star a Black actress.
The film, comprised of searingly honest interviews with actresses including Whoopi Goldberg, Taraji P. Henson, Halle Berry, Viola Davis, Cynthia Erivo and more, is one half of a two-part documentary series now streaming on Apple TV+. (Its sister film focuses on the experience of Black men in Hollywood via the testimonies of stars including Idris Elba, Jamie Foxx, Denzel Washington, and Don Cheadle.) The women’s film, directed by Shola Lynch, highlights the patience and resilience that women like Goldberg had to employ before they were viewed as someone who could lead a major production or, in industry terms, be number one on the call sheet.
“I don’t think the industry really sees us as leads, you know?” Henson comments in the film. “They give us supporting [actress awards] like they give out candy canes. That just—I don’t know what to do with that. Because what are you saying to me?”
Yet, there is some progress to celebrate. Seventeen “top, leading Black actresses,” sat for interviews for the film, according to Lynch. That number, in itself, is a success, she says. “I was frankly astonished that there were so many of them,” she says. “It was such a wakeup call. We are constantly trying to make everything better, but we also need to take a moment to say, ‘Wow, look at what we’ve accomplished.’ It was not like this 20 years ago.”
