Westworld actress Thandie Newton has revealed the disturbing incidents that led her to exit 2000's Charlie's Angels. Thandie Newton has had a lucrative career in Hollywood, appearing in both movies and television for almost 30 years. She has worked opposite Tom Cruise twice, first in Interview with the Vampire and later in Mission: Impossible 2. She also appeared in the 2005 Academy Award Best Picture winner Crash, as well as the Star Wars anthology movie Solo: A Star Wars Story. As of late, she is starring in HBO's Westworld as the sentient android Maeve. She has since received an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her portrayal as the character.
Thandie Newton previously spoke out about the sexual abuse that she received as a young actress that was infamously dismissed or misconstrued by the media. She was also a victim of objectification and racial stereotypes from people behind the camera, something that often affected her desire to act in Hollywood. Now, the actress has given more details than ever before on what she encountered at Sony.
Newton sat down with Vulture to have an open and candid conversation about her career and personal life. Newton cited one instance where she pulled out of a big blockbuster movie, Charlie's Angels, because she wasn't comfortable with the direction they were going with her character. The director excitedly described the first shot of the movie, saying, “'I can’t wait for this. The first shot is going to be … You’re going to think it’s like yellow lines down a road, and you pull back and you realize it’s the stitching, because the denim is so tight on your ass it’s going to look like tarmac.'” Newton expressed her displeasure, only to have an equally uncomfortable experience with Amy Pascal. Newton had a meeting with the studio head, where Pascal tried to encourage Newton to lean into African American stereotypes with her character. Newton claimed that Pascal said she wanted to make the character "believable," suggesting that "'there could be a scene where you’re in a bar and she gets up on a table and starts shaking her booty.'" When Newton claimed that it wasn't something she would do, Pascal claimed that Newton was "different."
Newton went on to explain that the movie was a big deal for her and that Vogue had asked her and her two co-stars to appear on the cover, but she refused to be in a position where she would be objectified. She said that if something like that happened to her today, she would attempt to "disrupt rather than run away." Despite her negative experience with the film, Newton also complimented the women who ended up starring in Charlie's Angels (Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore, and Cameron Diaz), calling them "brilliant."
Newton's experiences, unfortunately, aren't uncommon in Hollywood. Amid the #MeToo movement, dozens of female celebrities have come forward and shared the abuse that they have received from major figures in Hollywood. Most female celebrities in Hollywood have claimed that at the very least, they have been the victims of inappropriate behavior and objectification during casting and when filming. Hopefully, stories like Newton's experience on Charlie's Angels will encourage other female actresses to not only speak up and tell their stories but for everyone in Hollywood to oppose this type of behavior.
Source: Vulture