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Video: Jessica Chastain Calls Out Hollywood For Its Diversity Problem
Jessica Chastain accepts the Critics' Choice MVP Award during the 20th annual Critics' Choice Movie Awards. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for BFCA)
On the same day that the Oscars announced their whitest slate of nominees in almost 20 years, actress Jessica Chastain called on Hollywood and the entertainment industry to diversify and to take a stand against poisonous "agendas."
Chastain accepted the Critics' Choice MVP Award at the Hollywood Palladium Thursday night, which "recognizes an extraordinary actor for their work in several standout movies throughout a single year" according to the award website. Chastain was in four movies in 2014 (, Interstellar, The Disappearance Of Eleanor Rigby, A Most Violent Year, and Miss Julie) and thanked the casts and crews of all films before going into an heartfelt call to action:
Today is Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. So it got me thinking about our need to build the strength of diversity in our industry, and to stand together against homophobic, sexist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic and racist agendas. I'm an optimist and I can't help but feel hopeful about the future of film—especially looking at all the beautiful people in this room. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." I would like to encourage everyone in this room to please speak up.
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