racial justice

Henry Golding Shares His Experience With Discrimination in Hollywood

"Crazy Rich Asians" star Henry Golding received the leading man honor at Gold House's first annual Gold Gala on May 21 and took the opportunity to address bigotry in the entertainment industry

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Henry Golding is fighting for more representation in Hollywood.

While attending Gold House's first annual Gold Gala in Los Angeles on May 21, the actor spoke about the discrimination he's faced in the industry.

"I get it all the time," Golding, 35, told E! News. "I'm not Asian enough. I'm not white enough. It's just one of those things you have to accept. It's never going to change even from the Asian side of the populace. It's grasping on to what I believe and what I love about who I am and not really caring about others' misconceptions. And so for me, I'm proud to be Asian, I'm proud of my British heritage and I think that's all you can ask for in a person."

He encouraged young actors experiencing discrimination in the industry to stay true to themselves. "You're in a party of one at the end of the day, you know what I mean?" he continued. "Like, you shouldn't be listening to the haters because if you have a goal, if you have a target, you should be doing anything and everything to accomplish it. And sometimes that means swallowing your ego and swallowing your pride and doing the best you can."

Henry Golding Talks "Crazy Rich Asians 2"

Golding was honored by Gold House, a nonprofit collective of Asian and Pacific Islander leaders fighting for socioeconomic equity and more authentic representation. While accepting the award for leading man, the star -- who has been the leading man in several movies like "Crazy Rich Asians," "Last Christmas" and "Snake Eyes" -- posed the following question: What is a leading man?

"Now in the traditional sense when we talk about leading men in films it is often used to describe a hero, the romantic lead, a great comic," he told the audience, which included stars like Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Lisa Ling, Chloe Kim, Daniel Dae Kim and Kelly Marie Tran. "But I'm gonna let you in on a little secret: That s--t's fairly easy to accomplish, OK? You do the material justice, you be professional. You treat others the way you want to be treated, and you certainly don't go up slapping people up on stage."

The harder part, Golding continued, is being a leading man off screen. "This applies to all of us," he continued. "He, she, they and them. It's being a leading person to others: your peers, your colleagues, your friends and your family."

And he stressed the importance of taking action. "It's about fighting for those whose rights are diminished because of the color of their skin. It's about changing laws and advocating for fairness. No matter your creed or sexuality," Golding said. "It's building platforms and companies to uplift people to break through that bamboo glass ceiling, whatever ceiling you want to call it, no matter the industry. It's about pushing the limits of stereotype physically and mentally in all disciplines."

At the end of his speech, Golding encouraged others to be changemakers, noting, "We all have the power to be leaders, we just have to choose to make a difference."

Copyright E! Online
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