Kenya Barris is finally setting the record straight on whether he has a “fetish” for centering mixed-race characters in his projects after he was biracial-ish blasted.
Source: Jerod Harris/WireImage
Earlier this month, film critics lit into Barris after the trailer of his Netflix rom-com, You People hit the internet.
The funny comedy, which stars Jonah Hill and Lauren London, follows Hill’s awkward character Ezra Cohen as he tries to win over the parents of his Black girlfriend named Amina (London).
After news of the movie made headlines, some angry Twitter users lit into Barris, noting how interracial relationships and bi-racial characters are always centered in his storylines.
A few people accused the famed film writer of having a “fetish” and an unhealthy “obsession” with bi-racial people.
Kenya Barris Responds To Biracial Backlash
Well, this week, during an interview on Sway In The Morning, Barris finally addressed the criticism. When asked if he had a “fixation” with mixed-raced stories, the Black-ish and Grown-ish creator sarcastically said:
“I do, I really do.”
Barris, 48, continued:
“It’s crazy, it happened because I did a show about my family that I’m super proud of inBlack-ish. My wife’s biracial, the kids look like my actual kids. Then there’s a spin-off with Yara [Shahidi] who’s amazing, which I’m super proud of that spin-off, there’s a spin-off about the mum character’s life, which was based around my kids’ mum’s life and the things she went through.”
Barris argued that he has created other projects that feature unique storylines outside of popular shows like Black-ish and Grown-ish.
“If you go outside of that, people don’t think or remember it’s Entergalactic, Shaft, Coming 2 America, The Game, Girlfriends, Girls Trip,” he said, before challenging his haters.
“I’ll go head-to-head, I’ll do a Verzuz. I’ll go against anybody for who’s Black, in terms of who’s put out Black s**t,” he added.
Despite the backlash, You People has been garnering positive reviews from fans online since its release today.
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