Jameela Jamil turned down the role of a deaf woman as it “wouldn’t be appropriate”.
The Good Place star, who was born partially deaf, said that she refused the recent job offer because she can now hear, and insisted that the part should instead be given to “a brilliant deaf woman”.
“I said it wouldn’t be appropriate for me to take that role and they should find a brilliant deaf woman to play that role,” Jameela told the Press Association. “I think you have to make those choices and not be too greedy and make space rather than take space.”
The British actress, 32, said a “big change needs to happen” in Hollywood, which has been criticised for giving LGBTQ roles to straight actors, and using able-bodied actors to play disabled characters.
“I don’t want to be part of erasure,” she explained. “I think it’s a very tricky one. I can understand where people are coming from when it comes to suspending disbelief but I think the thing we should actually be fighting for is more roles for people with disabilities and more roles for LGBTQ so there aren’t just five a year and then those get taken by big names.”
Scarlett Johansson, Bryan Cranston, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Emma Stone and Jack Whitehall are among the stars who have been criticised for accepting certain roles. See full article at Hollywood