*Issa Rae, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Erika Alexander are the Jan/Feb ESSENCE cover girls amid the release of their new film “American Fiction” starring Jeffrey Wright.
The trio unpacks Black Sisterhood in Hollywood for the ESSENCE cover story and the challenges Black women face in the industry.
“I think the three of us are people who’ve made choices in our careers and have played roles in our careers where we do have a whole life and a whole story,” Ross explained, Revolt reports. “It is not easy as an actress — as a woman and as a Black actress — to find roles where you are not written in the context of something else.”
She continued, “Where your identity is not because of something, or you’re just the setup for someone else, or you establish something, and then you’re gone, and just used in that way.”
“Black women do a lot to thrive, but first, they have to survive. They have to survive society’s expectations and then their own ambition,” Alexander added.
View this post on Instagram
Rae drew parallels from her character in the movie to her own life, stating, “I think that so much of being a Black woman is sometimes like that — like, ‘You’re going to try to play me, but I will overcome, and I’ll play the game better.’ And I honestly love that part of it.”
According to the press release, “American Fiction is Cord Jefferson’s hilarious directorial debut, which confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Jeffrey Wright stars as Monk, a frustrated novelist who’s fed up with the establishment profiting from “Black” entertainment that relies on tired and offensive tropes. To prove his point, Monk uses a pen name to write an outlandish “Black” book of his own, a book that propels him to the heart of hypocrisy and the madness he claims to disdain.”
The film is now playing in theaters nationwide. Watch the trailer below.
READ MORE: Jeffrey Wrights’ Emotional Connection to ‘American Fiction’ Character | WATCH
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
