Gotham, Fox's hit show, a prequel of Batman, kicked off strong with rallied support from televiewers who love origin stories and DC comics when it premiered on September 22. But it's also been peppered with criticisms of late when a racism issue erupted during the filming of Jada Pinkett Smith's Fish Mooney character early October.
According to reports, Gotham show's stunt coordinators asked a white female stunt double to be 'painted down' in black as stand in for Jada Pinkett Smith.
Painting down is a taboo practice, says the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). In an article published by deadline.com, the 'painting down' of white stunt performers so that they can pass for black has been going on for decades" and even to this day although it is not stated anywhere in the contract of the SAG-AFTRA to prohibit the practice.
Kelsee Devoreaux, stunt double of Jada Pinkett Smith in almost all of her films, cried foul upon hearing the incident. In an interview with Radar Online, she said she contacted the show's coordinators in March this year and offered her services since the show will expectedly have action scenes for Jada Pinkett Smith. She was told there would be no actions scenes for the African-American actress.
Devoreaux said she knew the white female stunt double who was painted down in Gotham set. She "was so freaked out and uncomfortable by the situation, that she contacted the SAG-AFTRA immediately," Devoreaux added. .
SAG-AFTRA said the painting down practice is unacceptable, improper, insulting and demeaning, "anywhere and particularly so in a production center like New York City with so many qualified stuntwomen of color trained for this type of work." In explaining the union's contract, SAG's spokesperson also said "it requires that stunt coordinators "endeavor" to find stunt performers of the same race and gender as the actors they are doubling.
Devoreaux alleged that Jada is aware of what happened. This was countered by Jada Pinkett Smith's representative saying, "Jada has never had a stunt woman on Gotham. This is false and Jada is completely unaware of any of this ever happening."
