Entertainment
Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh Says TV Crews Are Failing Black Actors
“Nothing’s changed.”
Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh is calling out issues Black actors face on TV and movie sets.
The actor, who plays Lady Danbury on the hit Netflix drama and its spinoff Queen Charlotte, recently appeared on the Stirring It Up podcast and shared her view that Black actors are being improperly lit on many TV shows, including Bridgerton.
“The continuing conversation about lighting Black skin,” Andoh told hosts Andi and Miquita Oliver. “On every show, nothing’s changed. I suppose I feel powerful in that I will now go: ‘Am I blonde?’ But I hate doing it because a bit of me is like, ‘Oh I don’t want to make a fuss.’”
Andoh also said conversations with TV crews about lighting can be “very tiring and very distracting,” adding, “I want to stay in character. I just want to come on and be Lady Danbury and do what she’s got to do and be totally engaged with that.”
She continued, “When people say we’re chippy or we’re being militant or we’re all that stuff, what I want to say is, ‘I’m just a human being and I just want to do the gift that I’m blessed with. I want to do it in a free way, like I see many other people doing.’”
On the Stirring It Up podcast, Andoh went on to share that she sometimes wonders if being a Black actor ever determines whether or not she gets a role. “I don’t want to think about it,” she said. “I just want to get the job because I’m great, or not get the job because I’m sh*t.”
Andoh also revealed that she worked closely with a costume designer on Bridgerton Season 3, who created jewelry and outfits inspired by her West African heritage.
The actor credited showrunner Shonda Rhimes for being “smart and open” to her ideas for Lady Danbury’s outfits and accessories, sharing that her family appreciated the subtle nods to her heritage in Season 3, which recently set a new viewing record on Netflix.
