Latina actress America Ferrera shares a horrifying story about putting on whiteface to get a role

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The New York Times on Wednesday released a revealing look inside what it's like to confront diversity problems in Hollywood.

The newspaper interviewed 27 people within the industry, who opened up about their experiences being unrepresented and the awkward, strange, and even disturbing interactions they've had around ethnicity and gender.

Here are the six most eye-opening stories, including the time actress America Ferrera says she actually painted her face white to try to get a role.

America Ferrera ("Superstore")

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"I was 18 and putting myself on tape for a movie I really wanted. I got that phone call: They cast a Latino male in another role in the film; they’re not looking to cast [a Latina]. So I defiantly bleached my hair blond, painted my face white and made the audition tape. I never heard back. I just remember feeling so powerless. What do you do when someone says, 'Your color skin is not what we’re looking for'? Let me tell you: Blond does not suit me. I try not to prove my point on audition tapes anymore."

Wendell Pierce ("The Wire")

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"In 1985, I’m sitting in the casting office of a major studio. The head of casting said, 'I couldn’t put you in a Shakespeare movie, because they didn’t have black people then.' He literally said that. I told that casting director: 'You ever heard of Othello? Shakespeare couldn’t just make up black people. He saw them.' I started carrying around a postcard of Rubens’s 'Studies of the Head of a Negro.' The casting director actually was very kind to me. He referred me to my first agent."

Effie Brown ("Project Greenlight," "Dear White People" producer)

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"Finding out that a man who had less experience and critical acclaim got paid twice as much, that was a smack in the face. You think that studio loves you, and it’s, 'No honey, they can get you for a deal, and you in turn get other people for a deal.' I sometimes feel like a sellout, because I know I can get so-and-so in the door if they hit a certain price point. I had to learn how to break that chain."

See the rest of the story at Business Insider