The Disparity of Outrage

A case of "colorism"?

 By Gary J. Lewis

Will Smith has been tagged to play Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams. This news was met with wild disdain and contempt Some said it was because of the color and hue differences between Will Smith and Richard Williams. Social media is on fire because of these topics. Some say it’s a bad choice and some say it doesn’t matter.

In my opinion, it's not completely about skin tone or skin color. It's about phenotype discrimination. What I mean is that Will Smith looks nothing, and I do mean nothing like Richard Williams. There are plenty of black actors in Hollywood that could fit the role and at least resemble the man. Some say it's about box office draw but Will's last few movies have been stinkers. Richard Williams has very "distinct" features and it seems that Hollywood is hesitant about casting an actor in a lead role with his particular phenotype. It's a historical fact, I'm not saying it's racism or colorism, but I am saying it is closed minded thinking and doing what has always been done. 

Is this a case of “colorism” or much ado about nothing?