This year, many industries have been forced to reckon with what their commitments to diversity, inclusion, and antiracism look like. But there is one very powerful industry that continues to profit off of restricting opportunities for Black people...Hollywood.

For decades, the production companies that create our favorite movies and TV shows, like Batman prequel, Gotham, and Seth Rogen’s film, Good Boys, have been using blackface on white stunt doubles to stand in for Black actors. They call this practice ‘painting down;’ but no matter what they call it, it’s racist.  

Tell Hollywood production companies to hire black stunt doubles, not put white performers in blackface.

Here is the Petition:

Production companies:  

Your use of blackface, or what is sometimes known as 'painting down,' on white performers as stunt doubles for Black actors is unacceptable. Blackface has a lengthy and troubling history, originating with minstrel shows, where white men would paint their faces and draw on oversized lips to portray Black people as racist caricatures. Such performances continue to influence portrayals of Black people to this day, portrayals that result in real-world harms for Black people, including racist medical care, harsher sentences from judges, lower likelihood of being hired or admitted to school, lower odds of getting loans, and a higher likelihood of getting shot by police.

Blackface was wrong when it was introduced, and it's wrong now. Continuing to use the ‘painting down’ practice creates a hostile work environment for Black performers and systematically excludes Black performers from work opportunities, leaving many Black stunt performers unemployed. We demand that you hire Black stunt doubles, and permanently end the practice of placing white stunt performers in blackface.