Zendaya has some words for Giuliana Rancic over her racially insensitive Oscars comments
During her latest interview with W Magazine, where she graces the cover with her Malcom & Marie co-star, John David Washington, Zendaya opened up about those racially-charged comments Giuliana Rancic made regarding her dreadlocks at the 2015 Oscars.
Zendaya attends the Bvlgari B.zero1 Rock collection event at Duggal Greenhouse on February 06, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York.
Clearly, Zendaya doesn't have time for "ignorant people." During her latest interview with W Magazine, where she graces the cover with her Malcom & Marie co-star, John David Washington, Zendaya opened up about those racially-charged comments Giuliana Rancic made regarding her dreadlocks at the 2015 Oscars.
"That's how change happens," said the Euphoria actress. "And it made me think, How could I always have a lasting impact on what people saw and associated with people of color?" Zendaya initially responded to the comments on Instagram, writing: "There is already a harsh criticism of African-American hair in society without the help of ignorant people who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair."
For those of you who don't remember the insensitive comments Rancic made, allow me to refresh your memory. During an episode of E!'s Fashion Police, Rancic commented on Zendaya's red carpet, specifically her dreadlocks, saying she felt "like [Zendaya] smells like patchouli oil … or maybe weed."
Yup.
What possessed Rancic to utter those words is beyond me. But what's more dumbfounding is how comfortable she felt saying it at all. Immediately after the episode aired, social media blew up with criticism surrounding Rancic's for her remarks. Co-host Kelly Osbourne, along with many others, demanded Rancic to apologize and be held accountable for her statement.
Since the 2015 remarks, Zendaya has vowed to use her voice to shed light on representation and race in a positive way. For her and Washington's W shoot, Zendaya's stylist Law Roach wanted both actors to have a meaningful look.
"Doing a Slim Aarons shoot, but with Black actors," Roach explained to W. "The visuals matter. The way change happens is when people can see wealth and grandeur in a way that they are not used to seeing it." Aarons is famous for his photoshoots depicting socialites, jet-setters and celebrities throughout the 1960s.
"I just like to see positive things and positive reinforcement, so I wanted this to be a positive experience, people to learn from it, people to grow from it," Zendaya told Entertainment Tonight after Rancic's. "And that's all I hope is their show being able to learn and grow and hopefully be more positive."
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