Tyrese Gibson Says He Lost Roles to Terrence Howard Due to Colorism

Tyrese Gibson has opened up about the colorism he’s experienced while working in the film industry.

The F9 star told Leah’s Lemonade that he lost a lot of roles to his friend and colleague Terrence Howard due to colorism.

“Terrence Howard has no idea how many roles that I was about to book and they went with him because he’s the lighter-skinned black man with the green eyes,” the 42-year-old actor said. “It’s crazy to me, like, I’m No. 1. I’m the star. I’m this blue-black, you know, all of the things that I was laughed about in the ‘hood.”

Gibson also commended the work of Lupita Nyong’o and Viola Davis—and others like them—saying that now, there is “this shift that has happened. I think we should all stay humble because it’s interesting how white people created this kind of colorism. The mixed-race gets to be in the house and the black blacks get to work in the hot sun and pick cotton.”