Aaron Sorkin Clarifies His Comments on Hollywood’s Diversity Problem
As tends to happens when Aaron Sorkin speaks in public, people had mixed reactions to the Oscar-winning screenwriter discussing Hollywood’s diversity problem during a panel discussion last weekend. The “West Wing” creator and “Social Network” scribe clarified his remarks in Variety today: “Of course I am aware of the diversity problem in Hollywood,” he writes, adding that it was he who “brought the subject up Saturday morning and kept coming back to the subject.”
READ MORE: Aaron Sorkin Stunned by Hollywood’s Diversity Problem, Offers Help Any Way He Can
“Are you saying that women and minorities have a more difficult time getting their stuff read than white men?” Sorkin asked the audience during the panel. “And you’re also saying that [white men] get to make mediocre movies and can continue on? You’re saying that if you are a woman or a person of color, you have to hit it out of the park in order to get another chance?” This was interpreted by many as a sign that Sorkin didn’t realize this was a problem.
He now says these were rhetorical questions and that he was, in fact, well aware of such issues. “I was asking questions to a group of people who understand this problem firsthand,” Sorkin adds.
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