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When Priyanka Chopra Lost out a Movie Because of Her Skin Colour

It affected me, she says. 

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Celebrities
2 min read
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You might have been thinking that Priyanka Chopra, who is coming back to the small screen with the third season of Quantico, has had it easy breezy in the West. Well, think again. The Baywatch star has opened up on being discriminated for her skin colour.

In a recent interview with InStyle magazine, Priyanka shared how she has lost out on a Hollywood film because she is brown.

It happened last year. I was out for a movie, and somebody [from the studio] called one of my agents and said, “She’s the wrong” — what word did they used?— “physicality”.
Priyanka Chopra, Actor

#SetLife 🎥 19 days... @abcquantico #QuanticoCountdown ✨Season 3✨

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on

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She continued: ‘So in my defence as an actor, I’m like, “Do I need to be skinnier? Do I need to get in shape? Do I need to have abs?” Like, what does “wrong physicality” mean?’

The actor’s agent then explained it to her: ‘“I think, Priy, they meant that they wanted someone who’s not brown”. “It affected me,” Priyanka says.

Eat, Pray, Love #Quantico

A post shared by Priyanka Chopra (@priyankachopra) on

Priyanka emphasises that no one would admit that a woman of colour will get paid less for that very reason but “the numbers mostly end up reflecting that”.

It happens at the casting level. There are not enough meaty, strong lead roles for women where we don’t have to compromise on every level just to get the best job. I think one of the big steps is to first of all recognise it. I see a lot of people explaining why the pay gap exists. Producers have told me, “Well, when you have even the biggest actress in a movie, it still doesn’t make the returns that it would if you cast a guy.

It’s a long battle ahead, PeeCee!

(Source: InStyle)

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