Will’s got a new movie to promote, so of course, he’s spewing his BS.
Will Smith has a net worth of $260 million. Pretty nice for an African American to accumulate that wealth in the U.S., despite the “constant prejudice” he must live with.
He told People Magazine that he has still “absolutely” experienced racism throughout his storied Hollywood career. Smith was participating in a Hollywood Reporter’s Actor Roundtable with other actors, discussing what they described as prejudice in their industry.
Just in case you don’t understand English, Smith first explained the difference between “prejudice” and “racism,” as they’re defined in the dictionary. “Everybody is prejudiced. Everybody has their life experiences that make them prefer one thing over another – it makes them prefer blond hair over a brunette; if you see somebody with dark skin walking down the street, you have a different reaction than you have [with] someone who is 5-foot-1 and white,” he said. “But there is a connotation with racism of superiority: You feel that your race generally is superior.”
While Smith said that he lives “with constant prejudice,” he added that racism is something he deals with rarely. But he does deal with it. “I don’t want to work for them [racists]. I don’t want to work at that company,” Smith said. “And the times I have come in contact with it, you get away from those people.”
He knows how to stop the haters though. He said that he feels “as actors, we have the ultimate power” when it comes to squashing hate. “Historically, story combined with imagery moves humanity forward,” he said. “What we do – not that it’s a responsibility, but it is the ultimate forum for changing people’s hearts and minds. So when I’m choosing a movie, I understand the global power of being able to send imagery around the world.”
Probably realizing Smith needs to sell tickets to a broad audience, he contended that American cinema is ahead of the curve when it comes to making films about diverse characters. “America is the only place on Earth that I could exist,” he said. “No other country on Earth is producing people that look like me and allowing them to have a global [impact].”
DCG
