Hollywood star Viola Davis says she feels betrayed by her movie 'The Help'

“There’s no one who’s not entertained by ‘The Help’ but there’s a part of me that feels like I betrayed myself, and my people, because I was in a movie that wasn’t ready to (tell the whole truth),” Davis told Vanity Fair. The actor, who is known for her roles in TV show “How To Get Away With Murder” and movies “Fences” and “Widows”, said not all stories invest in the humanity of the people they are talking about.

Oscar-winner Viola Davis says she continues to feel betrayed by her 2011 film “The Help” for its skewed portrayal of racism. Davis, who played the role of maid Aibileen Clark in the movie, had made headlines in 2018 by admitting to the New York Times that she regretted being a part of the film. Set in the 1960s America, the movie revolved around an aspiring white journalist who decides to expose the racism faced by black maids in the white households by writing an book while pretending to be a maid.

The Tate Taylor-directed movie was praised at the time of its release but has been termed problematic in recent years with the way it looks at racial issues in America. But that has not dimmed its popularity. It became one of the most-watched Netflix movies amid global protests over the death of George Floyd. Davis, however, looks back at her decision with regret as she feels the movie was created in the “filter and the cesspool of systematic racism”. “There’s no one who’s not entertained by ‘The Help’ but there’s a part of me that feels like I betrayed myself, and my people, because I was in a movie that wasn’t ready to (tell the whole truth),” Davis told Vanity Fair.

The actor, who is known for her roles in TV show “How To Get Away With Murder” and movies “Fences” and “Widows”, said not all stories invest in the humanity of the people they are talking about. “Not a lot of narratives are also invested in our humanity. They’re invested in the idea of what it means to be Black, but…it’s catering to the white audience. The white audience at the most can sit and get an academic lesson into how we are. Then they leave the movie theater and they talk about what it meant. They’re not moved by who we were,” Davis told the publication.

The 54-year-old actor said the only reason she agreed to play Aibileen was because she was struggling at the time. “I was that journeyman actor, trying to get in,” she said citing the lack of opportunities for people of colour in Hollywood. “There’s not enough opportunities out there to bring that unknown, faceless Black actress to the ranks of the known. To pop her!” she said.