Trending Now: Angela Bassett Says Entertainment Industry Must Move “Beyond Symbolism Without Infrastructure” – Fans React

Angela Bassett openly shared her thoughts on AI, the regression of D.E.I. efforts and the entertainment industry at large as she accepted the Excellence in the Arts award at the 9th Annual ABFF Honors Monday night.

“Someone said earlier, and it’s true, we are living in a moment where the language of inclusion and belonging is being challenged, rebranded and in some cases, erased altogether,” Bassett began in her acceptance speech. “Words that once felt like promise and possibility are now treated as words to avoid. And this shift has landed in our very real lives, real careers and real dreams. At the same time, our industry is transforming at lightning speed. Technology is moving faster than wisdom. Business models are shifting under our feet. Stories are being shortened, flattened and sometimes stripped of their soul in the name of efficiency and projected progress. And in moments like this, I believe it’s fair and necessary to ask, where do Black creatives fit into this future? Who gets to imagine it? Who gets to participate? Who gets to decide?

More from The Hollywood Reporter

“I came into this business at a time when there were very few examples that told me that a Black woman could live a full, complex, enduring life on screen, and even fewer that suggested that she could ship what happens behind the camera,” the 9-1-1 star continued. “But what carried me forward was community. What pushed me to keep going was hope. Those Black men and women who made room, those peers who told the truth, those audiences who showed up anyway and a persistent sacred belief that our stories are not trends. They are truths.”

After pausing for applause from the audience, Bassett added, “Targets are being put on our backs as people by those at the highest heights of power in the world. And the only way to combat such vitriol and racism and misinformation about who we are is to keep telling our own stories, by showing the power of our individual and collective journeys. And to not just show the world the kings and queens that we have always been, but to also show them that we do belong, we do matter, and we are not going anywhere because we are home.

“When I look at this moment, challenging as it is, hope is still what sustains me,” Bassett concluded. “My hope for the future is not simply that we are included. My hope is that we are empowered. I hope we move beyond ‘firsts’ and ‘onlys,’ beyond symbolism without infrastructure. I hope we invest not just in talent but in longevity, in ownership, in mentorship, in legacy. And I hope when the cultural winds shift, as they always do, we do not retreat from one another but that we pull together. To the young artists in this room and those watching who are wondering if there’s still a place for you, hear me and hear me well: You belong here. Your voice matters. And this industry is better when you are shaping it. And to those with power, real power, I challenge you. Be brave. Choose courage over comfort to understand that the future of film and television will not be saved by playing it safe but by allowing us all to have a voice.”

Bassett was one of five honorees celebrated by the American Black Film Festival during the awards ceremony. Dwayne Johnson was presented with the Entertainment Icon Award, Jennifer Hudson received the Renaissance Award, actress and director Salli Richardson-Whitfield was honored with the Evolution Award, and F1: The Movie star Damson Idris received the Horizon Award. ABFF also delivered a special tribute to the creative team behind Sinners, with the movie’s Oscar-nominated stars Michael B. Jordan and Wunmi Mosaku presenting the honor to the film’s producers Ryan Coogler, Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian.

“When I first got to Hollywood, I looked around, and I didn’t see anybody who looked like me; I didn’t see a half-Black, half-Samoan man who I could look to or that was a blueprint,” Johnson said, accepting his award, presented to him by friend and Wicked director Jon M. Chu. “I was told back then — the big stars at that time [were] George Clooney, Johnny Depp and Will Smith — ‘well, you shouldn’t call yourself The Rock.’ ‘Maybe you shouldn’t go to the gym as much.’ ‘You shouldn’t talk about wrestling.’ ‘They do it like that, you should do it like this.’ And I tried that for a little while, and I thought, ‘This doesn’t feel right to me.’ I wanted to break that infrastructure, and I said, ‘Well, I’m going to do this. I’ve got to do it my way.’

“I feel like everybody in this room and in our industry, as artists, as creatives, as human beings, I believe we all have that chip. It’s that desire to chase that greatness,” The Smashing Machine star continued. “We also have this fire in our spine, I believe, to do more and to buck the odds. And when someone says, ‘Hey, you should do it like this,’ or ‘You can’t do it like that,’ or ‘Stay in your lane; it’s working,’ I don’t want to stay in my lane. I want to do more. I want to take a brass ring and take it to places that it’s never been taken before. And if I fail, that’s okay because I failed being myself.”

Best of The Hollywood Reporter

Sign up for THR’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.