Anthony Mackie, the actor most known for playing the ‘Falcon’ in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, weighed in on the issues of diversity and representation in Hollywood, citing Marvel as a chief example of the problem. It is no secret that Hollywood and the entertainment industry as a whole has had a decade long problem with representing minority voices. Mackie, who will be staring in the upcoming Tv Series, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, had much to say in an interview with Actors on Actors.

Mackie specifically cited the lack of representation in the majority of MCU installments, “it really bothered me that I’ve done seven Marvel movies where every producer, every director, ever stunt person, every costume designer, every PA, every single person has been white.”

Mackie continued, by citing Black Panther as especially problematic, “[Black Panther]…That’s more racist than anything else. Because if you only can hire the Black people for the Black movie, are you saying they’re not good enough when you have a mostly white cast?”

The Black Lives Matters movement and the continuing protests against the unjust killings of African Americans and minorities across the country at the hands of police has been a moment of reflection in all areas of American life. Mackie brings up legitimate critiques and highlights the problem with tokenism in the film industry. Confining Hollywood professionals of color exclusively to movies exclusively about persons of color stories, that’s not progress, it the opposite.

Photo credit: Raymond Flotat