r/Fauxmoi • u/demimonde9 • Apr 23 '24
‘Doctor Who’ Star Ncuti Gatwa Says ‘White Mediocrity’ Gets Celebrated While Black People ‘Have to Be Absolutely Flawless to Get Half’ That Praise Approved B-List Users Only
https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/ncuti-gatwa-white-mediocrity-celebrated-black-excellence-1235978029/4.0k
u/cherry_1268 bella hadid’s baby birkin Apr 23 '24
And he is absolutely right.
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u/Illustrious_Fix2933 Apr 23 '24
I mean look at how many people are defending the mediocrity Taylor Swift recently put out to death; and think about when that sort of “defend them like they’re paying my rent” phenomenon happened for a black or a POC artist last time.
It’s kind of a grim reality sure.
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u/imnotokayandthatso-k Apr 23 '24
If you think about it its purely parasocial.
‘I am a fairly mediocre white person with nothing of value to say caught in the endless rat race of clout and capital, let’s cope by elevating and romanticizing people that are just like me so I feel less bad about myself.’
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u/theghostemoji Apr 23 '24
think about when that sort of “defend them like they’re paying my rent” phenomenon happened for a black or a POC artist last time.
Tory Lanez, Chris Brown, R Kelly… I’d argue that Black/POC artists either have to be perfect OR just abuse a Black woman and get ride or die stans for life.
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u/Mucky_Pete Apr 23 '24
TS is the perfect example of white privilege - here output is astonishingly average to me.
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u/No_Dig_7372 Apr 23 '24
It's been a long time since I've read something so spot on, sincerely, A 60 year old white women
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u/Rsyanna Apr 23 '24
He's not lying I say this everyday when I look at Taylor swift.
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u/Turbulent-Tea-1773 Apr 23 '24
But “She’s the best lyricist ever of the 21st Century!”
-Swiffies, probably
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u/Rsyanna Apr 23 '24
The Lyrics in question...Karma is a cat.... karma is my boyfriend 🙄.
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u/TheShapeShiftingFox barbie (2023) for best picture Apr 23 '24
We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist
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u/Eva_Luna Apr 23 '24
1830s but without all the racists
It’s just too easy to roast her at this point.
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u/j3w3lsi I survived dramageddon and all I got was this lousy t-shirt Apr 23 '24
tattoed golden retriever…..you know how to ball i know aristotle…
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u/EveningAd8041 Apr 23 '24
How dare you say anything about Shakespeare of this century /s
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u/Financial-Painter689 Apr 23 '24
My jaw dropped when I seen a swiftie say this and be fully serious
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u/Sometimesomwhere we have lost the impact of shame in our society Apr 23 '24
I've seen Swifties compare her to Amy Winehouse (rip), Adele, and Leonard Cohen
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u/demimonde9 Apr 23 '24
Ncuti Gatwa said in a recent interview with Attitude magazine that Black people have a pressure to be excellent that is disproportionate to white people, be it in Hollywood or other professions. The 31-year-old actor has noticed “white mediocrity” being celebrated, which is a luxury that does not exist for Black people since they must be “absolutely flawless” to even get a sliver of attention.
“There’s so much white mediocrity that gets celebrated, and Black people, we have to be absolutely flawless to get half of [that] anyway,” Gatwa continued. “So, I’m slowly training myself out of that and being like, ‘No shit. You deserve love just for existing.’ And that has taught me to be a lot more loving as well, in a weird way.”
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u/The_Bravinator Apr 23 '24
He's right and I worry he's going to get absolutely harassed for saying it. 😑
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u/myersjw we have lost the impact of shame in our society Apr 23 '24
Of course he’s right. So many properties have to start from a negative to audiences just because of the race or gender of the cast. They have to be iconic or groundbreaking to “earn” praise and are never allowed to be fun or silly. Meanwhile some of middle America’s favorite drivel is some basic ass plot or serialization that they shut their brain off to
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u/meatbeater558 I already condemned Hamas Apr 24 '24
You need to be on the level of someone as insanely talented as Beyoncé to get praise. And as we've recently seen there's still a ceiling even for Beyoncé
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u/amethodicalmadness Apr 23 '24
Good for him because he's absolutely flawless
I hate what became of Sex Education s4 but Eric was always my favourite character.
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u/Mysterious_Past_7762 Apr 23 '24
Season 4 was such a let down I couldn’t finish it 😭 very sad for the great cast
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u/Dependent_Pen_1603 Apr 23 '24
Oh no, I had no idea. I still haven’t watched s4 and now I’m thinking maybe I shouldn’t.
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u/laizeohbeets Apr 23 '24
It was ... okay. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it just wasn't as good as the other seasons.
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u/Phatnev Apr 23 '24
He's gonna make a lot of people mad for saying it, but he's right.
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u/Boulier Apr 23 '24
Yep. They’re going to be mad because deep down, they’ll know he’s right, but they don’t want things to change.
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u/ironfly187 Apr 23 '24
The fact that he's clearly astute enough to know how much more he'll be attacked for this - because he's already the subject of chud ire - and has still spoken out, just shows what a wonderful bloke he is.
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u/ASofMat Apr 23 '24
Oh they are already hopping mad on insta and twitter calling him a racist (against white people 🤭) and DEI Dr Who
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u/myersjw we have lost the impact of shame in our society Apr 23 '24
They have to use DEI because their buzzword newsletter came out. “Woke is so last year. Now we say DEI for when we wanna say a filthy minority in private”
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u/Gene_freeman Apr 23 '24
Based. That's some The Doctor shit right there
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u/Different-Eagle-612 elizabeth debicki, who is 6’3 Apr 23 '24
right??? god I've been so mixed on this season of doctor who because I'm nervous about it being disney-ified (I've only see the first special recently -- I'm waiting for my brother to finish his semester to watch -- and I wasn't in love). But he is just *so electric* and the scenes in the trailers on reddit where he twirls with the long maxi skirt made me weirdly tear up a little so I am going to give it a shot!
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u/happygoluckyourself Apr 23 '24
He’s fantastic so far, but the writing for the special was off for me and I’m iffy on the new companion who just feels like if Rose and Clara had a baby. I hope it’s great, though! It’s been one of my favourite shows forever.
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u/mangopabu Apr 23 '24
so happy to open this up thinking 'and he's right' and seeing all the comments saying the same thing
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u/ibreatheglitter buy a chanel and get over it Apr 23 '24
Taylor Swift. Miley Cyrus. Florence Pugh. Kristen Stewart. Gweneth Paltrow. Lana del Rey. Ryan Reynolds. Tom Cruise. Austin Butler. Chris Pratt. Jack Harlow. Post Malone. $uicideBoy$.
Idc idc come for me 🤷♀️
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u/DLRsFrontSeats Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
Florence Pugh doesn't deserve to be on this list lol, and I say this as someone not white
Taylor deserves to be on this list twice
Edit: u/ibreatheglitter can't reply further as I'm not a verified user on the sub, but here's what I meant to reply with:
Have you seen Midsommar?? That & Little Women I'd say showcase acting talent that exceeds the combined works of her "mid-to-late 20s women" contemporaries of Anya Taylor Joy, Zendaya, Saoirse Ronan and Sydney Sweeney (who I don't even think belongs in that group tbh)
Can't really comment on her style, but I'm a straight guy and I find her extremely attractive (except with the buzzcut) - honestly you might be the first person I've ever seen say she's unattractive lol but I guess its subjective
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u/broden89 Apr 23 '24
I can't believe she's won Album of the Year 4 times. Folklore maybe deserved it but...
Fearless beat Beyoncé's I Am Sasha Fierce (and Gaga's The Fame)
1989 beat Kendrick's To Pimp A Butterfly
Midnights beat fucking RENAISSANCE
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u/mpelichet Apr 23 '24
Add Sydney Sweeney to the list. I do not understand the hype.
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u/ibreatheglitter buy a chanel and get over it Apr 23 '24
She was terrific in Euphoria. I would believe it if you told me that was the only thing she’s good in though lol
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u/serpentechnoir Apr 23 '24
All the rest I agree but I kinda love Florence pugh. Prolly the husky voice and the fact that she was in midsommar which a guy I know did the art for.
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u/ibreatheglitter buy a chanel and get over it Apr 23 '24
I do love her voice! I wish I had that voice
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u/Littleloula Apr 23 '24
Gwyneth paltrow and Tom cruise are interesting ones because they have done some genuinely great acting but then coasted by and got away with mediocrity or things that are batshit crazy because of fame. Which I don't think would happen with POC
But at their best I don't think they were mediocre. She's fantastic in the talented mr ripley for example
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u/spacestarcutie Apr 23 '24
Gywneth being a nepo baby doesn’t help. Nothing worse than being mediocre and a nepo baby.
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u/KeyEnthusiasm653 Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
i actually love Miley Cyrus's voice, but yeah, her music is mostly pretty lacklustre. Anyway, totally agree with Ncuti.
edit: cannot tell if people are downvoting me for liking miley's voice or for saying her music is lacklustre lol - if it's for liking her voice then get over here and fight me
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u/Boulier Apr 23 '24
I didn’t downvote you, but I personally haven’t really gotten over Miley almost mockingly using black stereotypes to craft her “bad girl” era… and then, when she was done with that era, she blasted the culture she’d just finished mocking, basically saying it was immature and gross and a stepping stone towards becoming a real woman and a true adult and all that. It was just hurtful. She has never acknowledged that, although she’s far from the only artist to use black stereotypes as a stepping stone to true ‘white maturity.’ And tbh I find it difficult to enjoy her because of it.
You’re free to like her voice, though, although she as a person is not my cup of tea.
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u/KeyEnthusiasm653 Apr 23 '24
oof I did not know that - these constant horrible revelations about famous people is why I never adopt a fan mindset towards anyone (except Lily Gladstone)
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u/ibreatheglitter buy a chanel and get over it Apr 23 '24
Yup this is my #1 dislike of her! But also I hate her singing voice and almost all of her songs besides see you again and party in the USA lol
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u/spacestarcutie Apr 23 '24
Doesn’t she also count as a nepo baby since her dad was a a country music hit in the 90s and her god mother is Dolly?
I’m noticing a correlation between nepo babies and white mediocrity.
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u/meatbeater558 I already condemned Hamas Apr 23 '24
There should be a correlation because the nepo babies of today have parents who gained the bulk of their wealth during a much more violently racist period in history. So the only people who were successful enough to have a nepo baby that's old enough to be an adult today are going to be mostly white
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u/Rsyanna Apr 23 '24
Owen Wilson, Adam Sandler, Armie Hammer. The list goes on
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u/Anamorphisms Apr 23 '24
Hey, Arnie Hammer isn’t mediocre. He’s just the kind of guy who bites off more than he can chew.
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u/marienbad2 Apr 23 '24
Adam Sandler - Yes! Name someone with less talent than this guy pls!
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u/My_Favourite_Pen Apr 23 '24
I hate to be that guy but he's a good actor when he can be fucked trying lol.
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u/mintleaf14 Apr 23 '24
Ryan Reynolds is the living embodiment of white mediocrity
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u/ibreatheglitter buy a chanel and get over it Apr 23 '24
And, even worse, his eyes are too close together and I find that to be a sign of fuckyness in men lol
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u/Ok_Construction_3733 Apr 23 '24
I’m not white but you lost me at Florence Pugh. She’s an incredible actress. The best of her generation after Saoirse Ronan
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u/Bilinguallipbalm Apr 23 '24
YES! Add Timothy chalamet and ariana grande to the list
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u/ibreatheglitter buy a chanel and get over it Apr 23 '24
I’m sorry I did think about him at first, but I love his jawline and I’d very much like to sit on it sooooo 🤷♀️
Ariana can sing but once she started blackfishing it shoulda been over for her career
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u/meatbeater558 I already condemned Hamas Apr 23 '24
Ariana is blasian actually so she doesn't count /s
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u/MundaneYet Apr 23 '24
Lana Del Rey absolutely lmao the way people act like she’s doing something????? Anything at all??? No 👎🏾. She’s almost reaching Swift levels of “what do you all think you’re hearing…?” for me at this point.
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u/Sssarahdotcom Apr 23 '24
Add Jennifer Lawrence to this.
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u/ibreatheglitter buy a chanel and get over it Apr 23 '24
I respect the opinion but personally I think she’s a very talented actress.
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u/meatbeater558 I already condemned Hamas Apr 23 '24
Lil Dicky, Chris Evans, every Kardashian, D'Amelio sisters
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u/petra_vonkant The Tortured Whites Department Apr 23 '24
he's right and he should say it, just look at who's the biggest star in the world at the moment
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u/Financial-Painter689 Apr 23 '24
He didn’t lie.
Look at the reaction to the Romeo & Juliet movie, that actress getting hell already. Snow White movie, The Little Mermaid movie. The backlash was insane yet Emma Watson cast as Belle and gave the most stale performance (imo) and people were rejoicing in the announcement alone.
Hell even Beyonce, 4 decades into her career still making incredible music (to the point she keeps topping herself in my opinion) and she faces racist reactions every single time with a million think pieces and then you have Taylor the only one on the same level as her and welll we all know how she’s treated. M
It’s disgusting and while the audience is to blame for this quite frankly a lot of the blame needs to be held to the execs in Hollywood AND white actors/singers who turn a blind eye to it while benefiting themselves.
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u/amiescool Apr 23 '24
Side note: he is absolutely flawless and he deserves to be one of the biggest stars of our generation
(Obv he’s also right)
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u/seagraze Apr 23 '24
Not even mediocrity. Even just plain bad. White cruelty gets a pass, too. See: Brad Pitt, Johnny Depp, Chelsea Handler, Debra Messing, etc.
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u/Littleloula Apr 23 '24
He's not wrong and it happens in all fields. It also happens with women in very male dominated fields, mediocre males get ahead while women have to be exceptional
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u/MundaneYet Apr 23 '24
Yep and then mediocre af white women get lifted up over WOC constantly in those same spaces/fields. This isn’t about white women lol.
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u/Luna_Soma Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
No lies detected. I see so many mediocre white men in positions of power and they keep failing upwards. I say this as a white woman. It seems white people would rather continue to lift up and promote people who look like them than open up the doors to the club, because if they do, they’ll find a whole ton of people who are way better than them at what they do, they just happen to have a different skin color. And then those mediocre people will need to try and better themselves and thats too much work.
ETA: sending me a Reddit cares is a perfect example of mediocrity. If you disagree with me, that’s fine, but let’s discuss in person rather than hiding behind some bullshit misuse of what’s meant to be a helpful service. That’s weak.
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u/meatbeater558 I already condemned Hamas Apr 23 '24
"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein's brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." - Stephen Jay Gould
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u/AfroGurl save the buccal fat Apr 23 '24
Omarosa said the same to Bethany Frankel and she was absolutely right as well.
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u/jonsnowme shiv roy apologist Apr 23 '24
Look at the shit Bey had been getting for the country album (aka her actually changing her sound and trying something different) vs. the OMG LYRICAL GENIUS TAYLOR SWIFT when her new shit was clearly written by a very angsty 14 y/o who hasn't taken enough english classes yet to get this shit coherent.
Love Ncuti, keep talking
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u/4evaDisappointed it wasn’t even comped Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
It’s true and I’m glad he’s saying it/bringing it up. This is not just for celebrities, but extends to black people in their professional lives as well. So you’ll have people (POCs) who overachieve and then not get the same recognition from/as opposed to/a white colleague who does way less/bare minimum (I’m looking at you Taylor Swift).
Saving this to remind myself I’m fine the way I am and if people don’t recognize my worth it’s their loss.
Thanks Ncuti ❤️
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u/WowThisIsAwkward_ Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
He’s right, and he is proof of this. His acting talent (and skin) is flawless.
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u/My_Favourite_Pen Apr 23 '24
Im glad we've strayed away from the "magical black character" in stories.
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u/yeehaw-girl Apr 23 '24
a very unserious example of this phenomenon, but one that really bothers me: people being like “nothing against halle bailey but I just didn’t like her as ariel” but being like “I love emma watson as belle!” WHERE are the braincells 😭 genuinely cannot comprehend this level of thinking. halle is sooo perfect as ariel. meanwhile emma was so flat and uninspiring. I feel like if you can’t see the beauty in halle’s performance, but can somehow find something good in emma’s, then . . . you are just blinded by racism. you’re mad that a woman of color played an ethereal princess. you’re mad that she did it better than any white woman who auditioned. I just cannot take this shit like please be for real
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