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Awesome Kong Releases Statement Calling Out GLOW For Racial Stereotypes
Image Credit: Netflix
Awesome Kong revealed on social media that before Netflix cancelled GLOW, she and her fellow cast members asked the streaming service to hire a producer of color. This would be in order to avoid racial stereotypes. Kong, under her real name of Kia Stevens, played Tammé “The Welfare Queen” Dawson on the show.
The letter, which she posted to Instagram in a series of photos, outlines a plan to make the women of color on the show feel like they were better represented. It states that Stevens, Sydelle Noel, Britney Young, Sunita Mani, Ellen Wong and Shakira Barrera felt “disempowered” during their time and made their concerns heard a couple of months before the cancellation. One of those concerns was that mostly made appearances on the show during its three seasons in the context of racist storylines. The latter that it was problematic to do that and then “be brief with our story development to serve the in-depth white storylines.”
It said that while the show presented itself as having a diverse cast, the storylines didn’t live up to that and there were frequent racial stereotypes. The letters adds that they do not blame the white cast members and don’t intend the letter as a means to attack them. Instead, they simply wanted “to elevate us all in a deeper, more significant way.” It was also noted that there were no writers of color in the third season.
The plan, according to the letter, would include three steps:
1) Hire an executive producer or consulting producer of color.
2) Fully address how portraying stereotypes and racially offensive wrestling personas has impacted our characters’ professional lives and personal dignity.
3) Amplify our voices and our importance within the season narrative.
You can read the whole letter in full below.
