‘OITNB’ cast-members perfectly called out sexist interview questions
It’s been just a little over a week since the third season of Orange Is The New Black took over our hearts via Netflix. It’s just chock-full of badass, feminist characters, and it turns out (totally unsurprisingly), that the actresses on the show are just as badass as the ladies they play. This was made especially evident after an interview conducted by Brazilian journalist and comedian Rafael Cortez, who interviewed Uzo Aduba (who plays Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren), Samira Wiley (Poussey Washington), and Natasha Lyonne (Nicky Nichols).
Things started out OK when Cortez began interviewing Uzo, but things QUICLY took a turn for the sexist when he started making weird, creepy sexual innuendos that made our flesh crawl.
“I would like to stay with you all the time,” he told Uzo. “You girls are so pretty. . . so fine.” Uzo politely said “thank you,” but it’s pretty darn uncomfortable to watch.
And, unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. Cortez then asked a totally idiotic question: “Tell me something. This kind of discussion that we’re having here is not so common in jail with girls, huh?”
Uzo, clearly confused, said, “Well, yeah, because you wouldn’t be there, because you’re a man.” And then Cortez let out a real misogynist WHOPPER: “Don’t you think that in the series you really need a guy inside the jail with you, doing things that just one guy can be able to do?” When Uzo pointed out that there are men in the show, Cortez responded, “No, I’m talking about guys, men, roar. Want to see my muscles?” UGH, WHAT.
Luckily, Uzo bluntly said, “no.” And, you know, the Internet collectively cheered.
But Cortez wasn’t finished yet. He then interviewed Samira and Natasha together, and things got even worse (yes, it’s possible). “To work with each other, two beautiful ladies like you, two beautiful women — it’s very hard to do this acting, especially on the stage,” he said.
Samira and Natasha looked totally bewildered throughout the interview. They asked what he meant by that comment, and Cortez’s baffling explanation was, “Sometimes, on those days, you start to be angry, to be furious, you keep fighting with each other. On those days, you know, so hard sometimes, especially on those days?” Which begs the question (that we don’t really want the answer to): Especially on WHAT days?
Samira kept her cool (applause, girl) and said, “Yeah, I think there are some stereotypes, maybe that women are very catty on set with each other, but that doesn’t really happen on our set.” Then Natasha laid it all out: “I feel like it’s accidentally maybe a little bit misogynistic. ‘Cause it’s like, ‘You’re so beautiful, what’s it like having to do all that acting?’ I can’t tell if that’s the question, but if it is, it’s insane.” YAAAAAS.
Natasha continued: “Despite the great beauty on the show, everyone is, you know, professional and talented and very capable. So I don’t think that anybody is really thinking about something as meaningless as their beauty when they’re at work, certainly not the show.”
We could not believe the disgusting attitude and sexism that was so deeply present in almost every single one of Cortez’s questions, but we absolutely adored how the OITNB ladies handled it — professionally and with poise, but still not taking any of the ridiculous misogyny. The totally inspired us as always, and we hope Cortez learned a thing or two about feminism during the interview. To watch the whole clip, check it out below:
