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Entertainment August 10, 2017
"There is no such thing as 'no,' ever. Not ever."
Jasmin Savoy Brown is a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry.
With Broadway in her sights, she’s already tackled roles on ABC Family’s “Stitchers,” TNT’s “Will” and popular HBO drama “The Leftovers.”
The inspiring feminist graciously stopped by ENTITY’s headquarters to chat about how to combat sexism in the workplace, the importance of “playing the game” and why her “Will” character reminds her of Hillary Clinton.
“I find that with each new job I take, I grow more confident. I always say, ‘When I reach so and so’s level of power and fame, then I’ll stand up for myself because no one can fire me then,’ but that’s really just a way of holding myself back.”
“I don’t want to make a statement here that will make other women feel down on themselves, because it sounds so easy to speak up when it’s really not. So what I’d really like to say to women is SUPPORT EACH OTHER. If you happen to be in the room when another woman is harassed, SAY SOMETHING.”
“Never negate another woman’s experience. Share your experiences. TRY to speak up in the moment, just try. The first time it may be opened mouth silence, but at least you opened your mouth! The second time it may be a squeak. How wonderful, a squeak! Then maybe a cough? Until eventually… you’ll tell him to stop it.”
“This may sound odd, but playing Emilia gave me immense compassion for Hillary Clinton. She was free insight into Hillary. We all see Hillary as this kickass, brilliant politician. We forget how much she loves what she does and how hard she’s worked and how many piles of bullshit she has to avoid, or had dumped on her.”
“She is the ultimate ‘Wonder Woman’ (one of the best movies ever made, by the way). Emilia, I imagine, like Hillary, had to learn to see a ‘no’ as a ‘yes.’ She was told ‘no,’ she heard ‘yes’ and figured out how to do it. That was one of the main things I learned from her — there is no such thing as ‘no,’ ever. Not ever.”
“I identify with the word feminist on a deep level because I believe in equality, and it’s that simple to me. Equality. Equality is born of respect. And respect comes from the way we see people, which is very much taught.”
“When we’re born, when we’re little kids, we only see through the lens of love and equality. A little black boy sees a little Asian girl on the playground and only thinks of her as his friend. Judgement of her nationality, disrespect of her gender is taught and absorbed from those around him. He was not born that way.”
“Of course, for disrespect and fear of other people to dissipate, we need children to grow without any sort of negative influence. But how do we realistically do that? We have to ask ourselves what our biases and subtle racisms are. That takes courage — it can be hard to face oneself that way. Only once we’re honest with ourselves can we make a change, and then influence our children and those around us to be better. Feminism is important in the meantime.”
“I was up for a lead role in a new television show and the producers said, word for word, ‘We love you, but we need you to look as beautiful as possible, SO can you come back in with your hair straight?'”
“Excuse me?! First of all, are you so non-imaginative that you can’t just picture me with my hair different? Secondly, THE way for me to look ‘as beautiful as possible’ is to straighten my hair? Screw that. That being said, I actually did go back with it straight, because I spoke to two of my (black) mentors who both said that the way to change the game, is to play it. If I book the role, I just negotiate into my contract to have my hair curly half of the time.”
“If I just sit at home passing on opportunities because of the ignorance of those who actually have no business making creative decisions, how will I ever accomplish anything? There is a difference between ignorant racism and blatant racism. The difference is subtle, and undetected by pen and paper, but something we know deep in our bones.”
“That bone rattle is never wrong, and is in many ways my compass. Listen to that, always. And have a community. Have a group of mentors, sisters, friends who you can complain to and who can tell you when you’re being dramatic versus when you need to take a stand. Community is key.”
Jasmin’s impressive resume does not end with her stint on the popular HBO series, “The Leftovers.” She can currently be seen on TNT’s “Will” as Emilia Bassano, which airs Mondays at 11 p.m. And she will appear in upcoming dramedy “Newly Single.”
