Actress Tia Mowry has spoken out about biracial stereotypes she and her twin sister, Tamera Mowry-Housley, faced while working as child actors in Hollywood in the 90s.
“It was very evident to me when I would walk on sets and see how certain stars or actors would be treated who weren’t of ethnicity — better dressing room, better trailer,” she said during an episode of her web series Tia Mowry’s Quick Fix. “Now, I’m like, more aware what that was, which is a budget. But back then I didn’t know what a budget was. It was so clear how you would see one show that didn’t have a diverse cast that just had a bigger budget, so everything just seemed bigger and better. But when it came to my projects and what I was doing, you actually really visually saw the less-than.”
She said that despite their hit show Sister, Sister being a hit and running for six seasons… their achievements were not reflected in their pay.
“I remember once the show became a hit, it’s very normal for you to ask for a raise. That’s what happens, right? People get raises. But it was always so hard for my sister and I to get what we felt like we deserved and our paycheck never equaled our counterparts’ that weren’t of diversity; and that was frustrating. Very, very frustrating,” she revealed.
“I’ve been told I’m not Black enough which was very odd and weird to me. ‘You don’t look Black enough. I think you would fit more of the Latino role.’ It’s like, what? These were casting directors who did not understand the different shades of Black culture.”
Check out the full episode above.
