Zendaya Fired a Former Publicist for Being Racially Insensitive
Zendaya is on the cover of Cosmopolitan's July 2016 issue, where she opened up about a difficult conversation she once had with her former publicist.
"I didn't like my hair and makeup one time on a photo shoot, and my publicist told me, 'You should just be happy with it - they haven't had a black girl on the cover since forever,'" Zendaya said. "She's no longer my publicist."
That publicist probably meant that Zendaya shouldn't rock the boat in order to make a good impression and probably had good intentions, but her comment implied that Zendaya's comfort and confidence levels weren't important enough to warrant attention, and they are.
Zendaya shouldn't have to accept hair and makeup she doesn't like because she's half-black. She shouldn't have to feel grateful to have gotten a magazine cover because she's a person of color - she should be proud to own that cover because she deserves it, period.
While Zendaya didn't go into detail, it's possible that the hair stylist and makeup artist on set didn't know how to best work with her hair texture and skin tone. Last year, Victoria's Secret model Leomie Anderson (who is black) spoke out about how frequently hair stylists and makeup artists don't carry products that match her skin tone or know how to work with her weave. Lack of diversity in the beauty world is real and has serious effects.
Keep on being you, Queen Z!
