Billy Dee Williams has made it quite plain when it comes to his view on performers wearing blackface. He has said that he is completely OK with it, since acting is acting, and an actor ought to be entitled to do anything they want in their art.
During the episode of “Club Random” with Bill Maher that aired on Sunday, the former member of the “Star Wars” cast shared his opinions on this matter. He did so while praising Laurence Olivier’s performance in the 1965 production of “Othello.” Olivier, who was white, wore blackface to portray the role of the eponymous character within the play.
The performance of Olivier, according to Billy, caused him to burst out laughing. This is because LO was criticizing the preconceptions that are connected with people of African descent, and Billy claims that he found it hilarious rather than insulting.
After Maher resisted for a little while, pointing out that in this day and age, you would not be able to get away with doing anything like that, Billy said in astonishment, “Why not?” Blackface should be allowed to be worn by anybody, according to his point of view, provided that it is worn for the purpose of acting and is intended to depict a different character.
Bill and Billy engage in a back-and-forth discussion over the anger that has been voiced in recent times regarding this matter. Without a doubt, many people have referred to blackface as being very racist, and it is generally considered to be taboo. In conclusion, Billy concludes by stating that he does not want to live in a victimhood mindset.
The conversation is certainly engaging, and it seems as if BM and BDW have discovered something they have in common.
Regarding the matter of blackface, however, Lando has said that he is not concerned about it. With that being stated, we don’t see anybody really getting on this bandwagon any time soon, which is probably for the best.