Marsai Martin said, come correct when you enter her office.
For this year's NAACP Image Awards, the 16-year-old actress and producer collected two wins for Outstanding Performance by a Youth (series, special, television movie, or limited series) and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in ABC's Black-ish.
Marsai Martin said, come correct when you enter her office.
For this year's NAACP Image Awards, the 16-year-old actress and producer collected two wins for Outstanding Performance by a Youth (series, special, television movie, or limited series) and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in ABC's Black-ish.
Following the awards show, The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the 11-time NAACP Image Award winner, where she revealed her eye-opening "no Black pain" project rule that's setting a standard in Hollywood.
In her interview with THR's Kirsten Chuba, Martin shares what it is that she looks for when green-lighting TV and film projects as well as what she tries to avoid.
"I have a couple of rules when you come into my office. When you come into my office, don't give me this — I don't do no Black pain. If it's Black pain, I don't go for it because there's so many films and projects about that, so that's not who I am."
As the youngest executive producer in Hollywood history, Martin is determined to leave her mark on the entertainment industry but not at the expense of trauma within her community. Her "no Black pain" rule is an effort to break the Hollywood cycle and build a better future where Black stories can exist without exploiting our tragedies for mass entertainment.
Her timely quote arrives at a time where Black communities across America are still grappling from the devastating events of police brutality that seemingly ramped up this time last year and are still going on today. As we see more and more TV series and films being made at the center of Black trauma, it's important to note that, like Martin, we understand our stories are more than the pain we experience.
Just as white-led TV projects and movies can exist with ordinary and positive storylines, so can Black stories. Our humanity is more than what America's racist past has taught us, and with Martin's rule, it's our hope that the industry at-large will adopt that same thinking.
Read up on the full THR interview here.