EW's Bold School Comic-Con panelists call out industry sexism, advocate for change

Some of the biggest cheers at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 weren't for buzzy superhero projects or starry sci-fi shows.

Entertainment Weekly brought its Bold School panel to Hall H on Saturday, where Dulce Sloan (The Great North, The Daily Show), Emily Hampshire (Schitt's Creek), Katja Herbers (Evil), and Shantel VanSanten (For All Mankind) opened up about their experiences in the entertainment industry and advocated for change. Hall H is often reserved for glitzy promotional panels, and Bold School was bookended by Netflix's The Sandman and a massive Marvel Studios presentation. But Sloan, Hampshire, Herbers, and VanSanten quickly won over the crowd with their frank, funny conversation about sexism, adversity, and advocacy, ending with a standing ovation from the audience.

"As an actor, performer, creative we are pimped emotionally on a regular basis because you're made to feel like if you can't achieve the things you want to achieve, you're not doing what you need to be doing as a person," said Sloan. "Because we are told we have to work for free so often to prove ourselves to be able to get paid what you're paying me in experience in opportunity, which has been bulls--- from day one."

EW executive editor Clarissa Cruz moderated the conversation and the four panelists shared some of the best (and worst) advice they've received in the entertainment industry, pushing back against sexist assumptions and comments.

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Shantel VanSanten, Katja Herbers, Dulce Sloan, and Emily Hampshire at Entertainment Weekly's Bold School panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2022

Several of the panelists shared stories about comments they heard early in their careers, especially concerning weight. Sloan said the worst advice she ever received was to lose weight if she wanted to be successful, while Hampshire recalled being told that she could either gain weight to play "funny" roles or lose weight to play "pretty" roles.

VanSlaten revealed that early in her career, she was weighed weekly: "I've worked with a producer who made me get on a scale and at 5-foot-8, if I wasn't 115 pounds when I stepped foot on the scale, I got written out of an episode," said VanSlaten. "It was like starvation mode." (To which Sloan responded, "115 pounds? American??")

The four panelists also opened up about the ageism that many actresses face, something Herbers said she rarely experienced when she began her career in the Netherlands.

"When I got to America, I was like, 'Holy s---, I'm different to a man?'" Herbers explained. "We have sexism back home, but not as much. I was like, 'Wait a second. Here [in America], women have an expiration date. What the f--- is that about?' That really threw me." She went on to call out how the disparity plays out in Hollywood. "The amount of parts that I go out for and the man is 65 and I'm supposed to be like so hot for him," she said sarcastically. "It's just not normal, this is not okay."

The panelists then when on to speak about learning to find their own voice, especially on male-dominated sets.

"I feel like for the longest time, I'd be on shows as an actor and feel like to have any sort of power, I had to align myself with the head guy or the director and find a way to suggest an idea so that it would be their idea," Hampshire said. "It wasn't even people telling me that I couldn't have a voice. It was a thing I learned, that as a woman, I wouldn't be taken seriously. I think I finally found my voice when I began writing and became the creator of my own stuff, which I never thought I could do. I thought I had to prove myself."

"The weird thing about being a Black woman in America is I can say whatever I want to say to anybody at anytime," added Sloan. "But when I get on set, you don't want to be difficult. Because you already think I'm going to be a problem, you're already wondering if I'll have an attitude. You're already scared of me." But she pinpoints the exact moment she changed her tack. "There's one day when you look up and go, 'If I wasn't what they were looking for I would not be at this job.' I did everything that I was supposed to do for you to hire me. So you're not doing me a favor by hiring me. I earned this."

Sloan also offered advice for aspiring creatives, explaining, "If you don't get something, you weren't supposed to have it. It doesn't mean you're not good at what you do. Because I've seen plenty of people get things that they shouldn't have received. Don't think about what you didn't get. Just look at what you want."

Finally, the panelists encouraged the audience to advocate for themselves and each other, from supporting other crew members on set — Herbers urged better pay for PAs — to using salary transparency as a pay negotiation tool. "We've advocated for each other to get raises and shared what we made because we felt we should all be f---ing equal," says VanSanten of her fellow female For All Mankind cast members. "I'm inspired by them because I see a new revolution in a way of sharing and caring for one another."

The Bold School panel soon lit up social media, with Comic-Con attendees praising Sloan, Herbers, Hampshire, and VanSanten and calling it "an unexpected highlight" and "one of the best panels I have seen at ANY convention."

See all of EW's San Diego Comic-Con 2022 coverage here.

Related content:

• Your guide to the biggest panels at 2022 San Diego Comic-Con

• The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power headlines EW's Comic-Con issue

• Best of Comic-Con 2022