Francesca Amewudah-Rivers Is the Latest Black Woman to Face a Predictable Pattern of Misogynoir After Success
Initially published in Teen Vogue on April 16, 2024
In this op-ed, Jumoke Balogun and Mitu Yilma outline the predictable misogynoir Black women face after success, Francesca Amewudah-Rivers being the latest example.
Leslie Jones, Laci Mosley, Amandla Stenberg, and Halle Bailey are all part of a sisterhood of too many high-profile Black women who have, after reaching pivotal points in their careers, faced backlash for simply being talented. When Jones joined the Ghostbusters franchise, hackers took down her personal website and leaked her intimate photos. When Mosley was cast in the iCarly reboot, she immediately became a trending topic on X, with people repeatedly calling her the N-word, among other racial epithets. In Stenberg’s case, she was just a child when online trolls said her character’s death in The Hunger Games was “less sad” because she was a Black girl. When Bailey was cast in The Little Mermaid, #NotMyAriel began trending soon after, with detractors arguing that a Black woman with locs could not be Ariel.
The cycle is predictable: A Black woman reaches a major accomplishment. People get very mad and attack her for doing that and for existing. Supporters speak out against the hatred she receives. And six months later, it’s another Black woman’s turn at the gauntlet. Now, it’s Francesca Amewudah-Rivers’s turn.
When Amewudah-Rivers was announced as Juliet in a West End production of Romeo and Juliet, the theater company’s own Instagram account had to disable the comment feature because of the overwhelming number of comments questioning her beauty and desirability, some going so far as to misgender her. The Jamie Lloyd Company also went on to release a statement decrying the racist harassment and celebrating the talent of its cast. Amewudah-Rivers’s co-star, Tom Holland, has also been urged to speak out in her support.
Some could posit what happened to these actors as an issue of stan culture, a problem with people having unrealistic expectations of how entertainers ought to behave, or a question on who has the right to be represented. Achieving success does coincide with facing the Internet, a space where people can be, and often are, their most uncharitable and cruel. We’ve seen that in the anger for Margot Robbie’s Barbie, with angry men calling her looks “mid,” for Ncuti Gatwa as the new Doctor Who, and for Brie Larson, who apparently was supposed to smile more in Captain Marvel. However, the hate reserved for Black actresses and Black women writ large always reaches a distressing level of dehumanization.
As Black women, we have become accustomed to this cyclical public debate about the merits of our beauty, talent, and worth — Bailey even said the hateful comments about her role as Ariel were “not really a shock.” Even though this kind of backlash has become commonplace, it does not make it any less hurtful. There is collective harm when we see the world tear yet another Black woman apart. It is unhealthy for us to log onto social media and news sites and witness people argue about the value of beauty markers we may hold, such as dark skin, a wide nose, full lips, or textured hair. It is unhealthy for us to see a Black woman work hard and be punished when she receives the opportunities she rightly deserves. It is unhealthy for us to know how many people hate us for simply existing, working, and daring to achieve. Black women are one of the largest groups consuming social media, and witnessing the misogynoir that is always awaiting us online is a heavy burden.
So it makes sense that well-meaning people, in their outrage and in defense of these actors, create contrasting trending hashtags, sign petitions, and battle in the comments to show love to those on the receiving end of misogynoir. However, even with these comments and official statements affirming Black women’s beauty, talent, and worth, it hurts that our humanity continues to be up for debate. The question at the core of these arguments is ultimately whether Black women deserve to be seen, desired, and humanized.
The trolls aren’t winning, though. Jones continues to be a successful comedian, television personality, and actor. Mosley continues to act in shows and movies and hosts the very successful Scam Goddess podcast. Stenberg continues to be a successful actor and an advocate who challenges her industry to change for the better. Bailey continues to release music, earning a Grammy nomination for her solo efforts, and acts in highly-anticipated films. Despite the hateful trolls’ best efforts, Black women continue. Black women continue working, showing up for each other, and achieving. The point is we shouldn’t have to face these abuses in the first place, and we all shouldn’t have to bear witness to the overwhelming hate. As Mosley said after the racist onslaught following her iCarly casting, “We are talented. We work very hard, a lot of times much harder to get where we are and we don’t deserve to be punished for that.”