Hollywood's ‘Vast Desert’: Viola Davis addresses limited roles for Black women over 50

Viola Davis addressed the dearth of roles for black women over 50 in Hollywood during her talk at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, likening it to a "vast desert."

The Oscar-winning actress, 57, expressed dismay over the sparsity of roles for Black women over 50, "When it comes to Black women who are over 50, then that is when [the lack of interesting roles] is problematic," she told People. "That's when it is a vast desert."

She added optimistically, "Women are no longer begging for a seat at the table, they're creating their own. Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Kerry Washington, Issa Rae, Michaela Coel, Halle Berry, Keke Palmer, we can keep going on and on — even Marsai Martin, who is what, 18? They're empowering themselves by understanding that they're the change that they want to see."

Viola Davis recently played the role of Deloris Johnson, Michael Jordan’s mom in the Nike drama Air. The celebrated basketball player allowed director Ben Affleck to make the movie on one condition: Viola Davis had to play his mom.

The EGOT winner concluded with empowering remarks, "I don't hustle anymore. Worth is nothing to be negotiated with. I was born worthy. That's not on the table.”