Last September, Awkwafina addressed the criticism over her past use of a “Blaccent” onscreen, in an on-camera Reuters interview.
“You know, I’m open to the conversation,” she said. “I think it really is something that I think is a little bit multi-faceted and layered.”
In 2017, amid the backlash, Awkwafina also drew controversy for saying in a VICE interview, “I’ve walked out of auditions where the casting director all of a sudden changed her mind and asked for accents. I refuse to do accents.”
Amid the controversy, Awkwafina has also been praised for her efforts to promote diversity in Hollywood. BD Wong
, who plays her dad on her show Nora from Queens, praised the star in a 2020 People interview, saying she has “hired a lot of women and a lot of people of color.”In 2019, Awkwafina told The Hollywood Reporter, “I think that there’s a progressive shift in Hollywood right now. People’s diversity is not a trend. Diversity is something that’s just here to stay. The projects that I have been in were very reflective of that and I’m very lucky to have been on those sets.”
