Amazon Studios Executive Head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Latasha Gilespie, introduced its new inclusion program in June 2021.
The streamer has launched its largest, most expensive series since then. “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” which was met with great acclaim and, sadly, with social media furor over the epic fantasy series’ diverse casting. The reality show is body-positive “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,”He was nominated six times for Emmys and won three of them, one for Outstanding Competition Program, one for director NnekaOnuorah.
Gillespie spoke recently to Gillespie about how she and her team, as well as other creatives such Viola Davis, are doing. “One Day at a Time” co-creator Gloria Calderón Kellett, came up with the playbook, how’s it’s been implemented, and how embracing diversity in front of and behind the camera benefits Amazon’s bottom line, even if a certain segment of the population is actively trying to shout it down.
“I don’t do diversity work for the sake of diversity,” said Gillespie. I can understand the business aspects of this. At the end of the day, no matter what industry you’re in, you have KPIs or business metrics that you are accountable to, that your company is accountable to – either its board or its shareholders or whoever else, its customers. For me, it’s really about understanding the business impacts of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility, and how it’s good for, not just the bottom line, but all those other metrics that you’re tracking.”
: Part of Amazon’s motto is “leaders are right a lot.”What does this mean for the diversity playbook? “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls”?
Latasha Gilpie:This means that we were correct a lot in our belief that we could tell stories about beautiful, thick, curvaceous Black women who would appeal to a wider audience. This was evident with both the fanbase as well as the audience. However, the commercial access can also be an awards play. [at the Emmys]. It was so great, especially to see Nneka Onuorah honored because she’s brilliant. You’re gonna see so much more from her to come in the next year or two. I’m so happy that we got to work with her this early on and that she was the one helping bring this vision to life as a Black queer woman.
Casting in “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”Before it could be put into practice, the playbook’s essence was not fully embodied.
We’re really proud to say that we literally found the best actors on the globe to play those parts, irrespective to what country they were born in, what their race or ethnicity was, body type or their sexual orientation, we found the most fantastic cast and crew to help bring that story to life.
After the racist backlash to the show, many in the fandom have come out in support — like the “Lord of the Rings”The cast and crew of the films as well as actors from the films. “Rings of Power.”Is that a sign of your enthusiasm about Amazon??
Yes, I believe so. I find it funny, whether it’s “Lord of the Rings”Oder “House of the Dragons,” how people can criticize a mythical magical place that doesn’t really exist. If you’re doing world building, create the world you want to see. And I think you can do that brilliantly, as long as you’re working with really talented people who will make that story come to life for all audiences. [If you do that], you’ve just broadened the reach. You’ve opened it up to new fans and allowed people to discover it in a way that maybe they wouldn’t have traditionally.
How did the inclusion playbook come about? And what discussions were there with Prime and Amazon creators about incorporating it into their products?
The first thing that we did was actually sit down with creators like Gloria Calderón Kellett, Greg Daniels, Daniel Dae Kim, and Viola Davis’s company, JuVee Productions, and really talk through what we were proposing, the why, and then the how. To better understand their perspective, we wanted to ask them: What did it feel like to be a creator? Was it intrusive or did they feel comfortable? Bureaucratic? Authentic? Attainable?
We received great feedback and, in those places where they provided constructive input, we certainly incorporated. However, the overwhelming majority of feedback was in the form of comments. “Thank you for articulating what good looks like as a creator,”And “I’m trying to be inclusive, but I really didn’t have a yardstick, this actually gives me a guide, and helps me understand how I can be intentional in ways that maybe I haven’t thought about,”It was really encouraging to hear.
How can you get people to work behind the camera and in inclusive ways? You want to give people a chance, but creatives often like working with the same people over and over again because they’re a team.
Humans find their tribe. They find the best. So I don’t think it’s necessarily a sleight against folks for having their crew and their team. I just want to make sure that I’m not telling creators that your team is terrible. [Laughs] And I understand why it’s important to have that crew with you.
But I’m also asking them to stop and consider: What story are they telling? I’m asking them to stop and think about their story. There’s an old saying that comes from Apartheid that’s also been widely adopted in the disability communities: “Nothing about us without us.” If you’re telling the story of a woman of color, specifically an Asian woman, let’s make sure there’s an Asian woman in that writers room. If you’re telling the story of a trans man, make sure there’s a trans person in that writers room, because, for the sake of your story, your audience, your customers, you want to tell a fully authentic, fully nuanced story that people can relate to.
This is how characters are created, not caricatures. There are subtle differences, based on our life experiences that shaped who we are and how we would present and the way we would say things or the way we would move and, and you wouldn’t know that if it wasn’t your life experience. We’re saying if you’re choosing to tell the story about this particular character, or characters, then make sure someone in that writers room has that lived experience to make sure you get it right. We’re here to support.
What are your potential partners in this search?
We know you can’t always hire exactly the same lived experiences you’re writing about. You can sometimes get close, but then let us help you with resources that we have contracted from my team, whether it’s GLAAD or Storyline Partners, or Illuminative, which is an organization we work with when we’re telling Native American and Indigenous stories. Let us partner with them to make sure that it feels right to the community that we’re intending it for. We don’t just provide the list, we actually provide the service. These organizations have retained agreements. I don’t want the creator to think, “Can I afford it?” “Is it gonna hit a line item in my budget?”Let us take care of that. Only worry about telling the best story you can and making it come to life.
Does that mean Amazon can do that?
We tried to make this policy and playbook a part of our overall focus. This is how we can make it a part the structure and a part the system, when you are working with us. I don’t know if anybody else is doing that, but that’s the work that we’re trying to do. We’re trying to do that not only with historically marginalized communities from a race and ethnicity standpoint or sexual orientation, but also disability. We are finalizing some things that we’re going to be announcing soon around standardizing some of our mental health resources as well. We plan to make them more uniform, more specific, and more culturally sensitive.
Amazon is committed to diversity. But what about the industry as a whole? What would your dream see happen?
I just would question: What’s the industry’s responsibility to customers? Who are you considering as your customers? Are you tapping into the things that resonate with them, what feels authentic to their needs and what speaks to the stories they are looking for? As an industry, I believe that if we ask this question, we will be able to challenge ourselves in new ways.
If you think about U.S. audiences in general, the Latino community is the most frequent visitor to the cinemas than any other race or ethnicity. How is this industry able to provide such content? They will see stories that don’t just focus on Latino characters. But if you know that they’re more prone to go to the movies, it would just make sense that you would also serve up more content that actually speaks to their authentic lived experience.
I think that’s really important. You could look across demographic groups, but it’s really about customer obsession. How are we obsessing over customers in a way that when people watch content, television or film that they feel like either A) they’re seeing their own authentic lived experience in a way that resonates deeply and personally with them and/or B) they get experience into someone else’s lived experience in a way that really feels authentic and nuanced in a way that helps increase humanity? We have the opportunity. We have an obligation not only to entertain but also to increase humanity.
What has been the impact of the inclusion policy?
It all starts with leadership. Jennifer Salke is the truth. From Day 1 as Amazon Studios’ head, she has created a culture that encourages inclusion in her movements and operations. An example of this is when someone who had previously worked for me came to work for us again as we headed into an all hands meeting. “Oh, my gosh, did we give her the talking points?”
I laughed because we had probably to write leaders about what to say about DEI in the past. I responded, “No, but I understand your PTSD, though. [Laughs] It’s just who she is. Watch and see who she invited to speak on the stage, watch and see the clips she handpicked to share in the meeting. You will see it’s just naturally who she is.”She sets the tone. She recruits leaders who share her vision.
