Halle Berry, the American actress, has spoken about the Oscars system, arguing that it’s not designed to award black women in leading roles.
The 58-year-old film star shared her thoughts on the matter in the Apple TV+ two-part documentary titled ‘Number One Call On the Sheet’.
The documentary explores the experiences of black actors in Hollywood.
Berry, who is the first and only black woman to have won the Academy Award for ‘Best Actress,’ emphasized that the “system is not really designed for black women”.
She also advised her fellow actresses to stop coveting the award and, instead, focus on touching people’s lives.
“It’s forced me to ask myself, did it matter?” Berry asked.
“Did it really change anything for women of color? For my sisters? For our journey?”
“The system is not really designed for us and so we have to stop coveting that which is not for us.
“Because at the end of the day, it’s how do we touch the lives of people and that is fundamentally what art is for.”
In 2021, Berry disclosed that she was heartbroken that no other black woman had won the award since she did.
Since the Academy Awards debuted in 1929, several black stars have won ‘Best Supporting Actress’ but none has secured ‘Best Leading Actress’ aside from Berry.
Overall, 13 black actresses have been nominated for the honour, including, most recently, Cynthia Erivo, who’s been nominated twice.
This year, Erivo was nominated for her role in ‘Wicked’ but lost to ‘Anora’ star Mikey Madison.
In 2002, Berry won the ‘Best Leading Actress’ category at the Oscars for her role in the movie ‘Monster Ball’.
She has also won a Primetime Emmy award and the Golden Globes.
