‘Colorism' Backlash: Critics Saying Will Smith Too Light-Skinned to Play Serena Williams’ Father in Movie

A new film by the title of “King Richard” is now facing allegations of “colorism,” with critics saying that Will Smith, set to play Venus and Serena Williams’ father in the film, doesn’t have a dark-enough skin tone to play Richard Williams.

Deadline had reported yesterday that Smith was cast as Richard Williams, the father and tennis mentor of Venus and Serena Williams, which has irked several journalists and cultural critics to no ends.

A lot of the time, the media tends to qualify a “backlash” by just a handful of tweets of criticism. With that being said, IndieWire are using the word “Backlash” Yahoo and New York Daily News is calling it a “controversy” etc …

This is the first time I hear of the term “colorism” — the idea that between people of color, there are more privileges and opportunities for those with a lighter skin tone, is nothing new, it’s a universal problem (just look at Bollywood and there barely being any dark-skinned Indians in those movies).

“Colorism matters,” sportswriter Clarence Hill Jr. said on Tuesday. “Love will Smith but there are other black actors for this role.” Hill Jr. was supported by film writers Valerie Complex (“colorism at work”) and George M. Johnson, who wrote, “Just like Chadwick [Boseman] shouldn’t have played Thurgood Marshall, Will should not play Richard.”

The notion that a controversy would arise from a black actor not being black enough to play a role is not surprising. Now being black isn't enough, you have to be the right shade of black.