Billy Dee Williams believes it is fine for actors to wear blackface.
Billy Dee Williams has no problem with blackface
The 'Star Wars' star doesn't have a problem with white people using make-up to darken their skin tone to play characters of different ethnicities because he believes those in the profession should be able to "do anything" they want.
Appearing on Bill Maher's 'Club Random' podcast, Billy recalled Laurence Olivier wearing blackface for his performance in 1965's 'Othello'.
He said: “When he did ‘Othello,’ I fell out laughing.
"He stuck his [butt] out and walked around with his [butt], you know, because Black people are supposed to have big [butts].”
Referring to the prosthetic donned by the Oscar-winning star in 'Maestro', the host quipped: "And Bradley Cooper thinks he’s got a problem with the nose."
His 87-year-old guest added: "I thought it was hysterical. I love that kind of stuff."
Continuing the conversation, Bill noted: "Today, they would never let you do that.”
When Billy asked why, the shocked presenter replied: "Blackface?!"
But the actor insisted: "Why not? You should do it. If you’re an actor, you should do anything you want to do.”
The 68-year-old presenter noted his guest had “lived in a period where you couldn’t play the parts you should’ve played", but the 'Batman' actor insisted he wasn't annoyed about it.
He said: “The point is that you don’t go through life feeling like, ‘I’m a victim.'
"I refuse to go through life saying to the world, ‘I’m p***** off.’ I’m not gonna be p**** off 24 hours a day.”
Earlier this yar, Billy insisted he never thought about his ethnicity when it comes to the characters he plays.
He told The Guardian newspaper: “I never think of myself in terms of the only Black character. Everybody else might think of it that way. In my reasoning in my own head, I’m just a character.
“A character has certain qualities that make a character a winning character in a movie or a character that is not able to translate very well. I’ve been able to translate very well across the board.”
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