Halle Berry Says She Was ‘Profoundly Hurt’ Her Oscar Win Didn’t Do Anything for Diversity in Hollywood: ‘It Meant Nothing’

BY: Denver Sean

Published 7 years ago

Halle Berry was the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for Best Actress back in 2002 and during her acceptance speech she dedicated her win to ‘every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because this door tonight has been opened.’

15-years-later, no other women of color have taken home that award.

Speaking to Teen Vogue, Halle revealed that while her win felt like a major milestone at he time — it now feels meaningless. n

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“It’s troubling to say the least,” she began, adding that the 2015 Oscar race, in which no actors of color were nominated for major awards, “was probably one of my lowest professional moments.”

Despite her powerful acceptance speech, Berry said she now thinks, “Wow, that moment really meant nothing. It meant nothing. I thought it meant something but I think it meant nothing.”

The realization left her ‘profoundly hurt’ and ‘saddened,’ but also inspired.

“It inspired me to get involved in other ways, which is why I want to start directing, I want to start producing more. I want to start being a part of making more opportunities for people of color.”

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While we have seen more people of color nominated for Oscars, there’s still a lot more work to be done.

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