Lupita Nyong’o has been changing the game for women of color ever since her rise to fame following the 2013 hit film 12 Years A Slave.

But with much success comes much criticism, and the Oscar-winning actress has had her fair share of condemnation throughout her short career. Lupita graced the cover of Vogue‘s October issue and opened up about the flak she’s received in Hollywood for her skin color.

She referred to one instance during which a talent agent made light of her success, saying that her career in Hollywood would last only “two-and-half, three years.” Lupita told the mag, “Would Beyoncé be who she is if she didn’t look like she does? Being lighter-skinned, more people can look at [Beyoncé’s] image and see themselves in her.”

She continued, “I have to deafen my ears to that Christian lady. She is looking at me as part of the cultural tapestry. I am living and breathing. That person is not considering what I had for breakfast, how that is sitting in my stomach, and why I didn’t do well with that audition.”  

Despite some of the negative encounters, Lupita sure knows how to turn lemons into lemonade. She added, “I cannot run away from who I am and my complexion or the larger society and how they may view that. There are certain cards that have been dealt me that I take on. I want to create opportunities for other people of color because I’m fortunate enough to have a platform to do that. That is why [my characters in] Eclipsed and even Queen of Katwe are so important, to change the narrative, offer a new lens on African identity.”

Check out what else Lupita opened up about in Vogue’s October issue, on stands now.

SOURCE: E!, Vogue | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty, Instagram

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