Naomie Harris and Lashana Lynch are rallying behind a Time’s Up UK initiative to promote fair and professional hair and makeup practices on film sets for Black and Global Majority performers.
In collaboration with the PMA Diverse Squad, the British Blacklist, and Garden Studios, Time’s Up UK is advocating for a new clause in deal memos. This clause would ensure that actors have access to hair and makeup artists who are skilled in working with afro-textured hair and darker skin tones.
READ: Lashana Lynch Set to Lead in AI-Sci-Fi Film ‘Optimize’
A sample of the proposed clause reads: “There will be a meaningful consultation between the Actor and Hair & Makeup. Production will provide a hair and makeup stylist(s) with knowledge and experience of working with afro textured hair and darker skin tones; and ensure that the makeup artist will have a reasonable selection of makeup which is actually suited to darker skin tones.”
The campaign will be spotlighted at an event in Cannes on Sunday morning. It was also highlighted during a screening of the Sky documentary “Untold Stories: Hair on Set,” directed by BAFTA-nominated Jordan Pitt. Pitt and the show’s host, Fola Evans-Akingbola, are notable supporters of this initiative.
Sky has made a commitment to ensure that all its original productions featuring Black talent will have makeup artists and hair stylists who are experienced in working with afro-textured hair and darker skin tones.
Naomie Harris stressed the significance of this issue: “The last thing you want to be worrying about when preparing for a role is your hair. Hair and makeup discrimination is a real, often unspoken problem that can be harmful. I am thrilled to support Time’s Up UK in their efforts to highlight and address this inequality in our industry.”
Lashana Lynch echoed these sentiments, stating, “It’s tough to give your best performance when you don’t have the same hair and makeup support as your non-Black colleagues. This issue needs to be addressed. I fully support this campaign to eliminate this discrimination and create an equitable working environment on and off set for everyone. I’ll keep advocating for these changes until our industry framework supports everyone equally.”
Heather Rabbatts, Chair of Time’s Up UK, underscored the impact of these discriminatory practices: “Discrimination based on hair style or texture is a damaging practice that has marginalized and caused harm to Black and global majority actors. We hope this new clause will be adopted in all actors’ deal memos, ensuring that hair and makeup services are inclusive.”
A 2021 report by the Sir Lenny Henry Centre for Media Diversity revealed that nearly 71% of respondents had encountered hair or makeup artists who were unqualified to work with them on par with their white colleagues.