'Orange Is the New Black' Season 4: SAG Winners Talks 'Oscars So White' Controversy & More [VIDEO]
The stars of Netflix's Orange Is the New Black think the diversity problem in Hollywood starts way before the Oscars.
'Orange Is the New Black' Star Dascha Polanco Talks Bennett & Daya's Future
The sprawling cast of Orange Is the New Black won big at the SAG Awards Saturday night, picking up the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series trophy - their second in a row. Uzo Aduba (who plays Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren) also picked up her second consecutive trophy in the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a comedy Series category.
Considering Hollywood is embroiled in the "Oscars So White" controversy, this was huge win and a big statement to make. With the cast being almost entirely comprised of women of all shapes, sizes, races, sexual orientations and otherwise, the win signified something bigger than just their performances as a cast.
Will Poussey & Soso's Romance Blossom On 'Orange Is the New Black' Next Season?
Selenis Leyva, who plays Gloria Mendoza, on the series, spoke with reporters after their big SAG win about the diversity problem in Hollywood.
"It's a start but the problem starts before the Academy Awards," Leyva explained. "The problem starts in the writing rooms, in the studios; the producers and directors and casting people need to open up their eyes that this is a different world we're living in and diversity is not just black and white. Diversity is universal and it's a lot more than what we are focusing on. It's religions, it's sexuality. So it doesn't start at the Academy Awards. That's not the solution. The solution starts before that."
And co-star Samira Wiley, who plays Poussey Washington, spoke about their OITNB boss Jenji Kohan putting such diversity on television and proving that there is an audience for it.
"All of us are from different backgrounds, we have [different] stories, we have different body types, we have different beliefs and goals in life," she said. "So her putting that on TV I think it took us to see that and say, 'Oh, people will watch that.' That is what people want to see, because it is who people are. Who they're seeing on the street."
Orange Is the New Black season 4 will be released Friday, June 17 on Netflix.
