“Doctor Who” and “Sex Education” star Ncuti Gatwa is speaking out about how people praise white mediocrity while black people have the pressure of being excellent.
While speaking with Attitude Magazine, The 31-year-old actor said he’s tired of seeing “white mediocrity” being celebrated, which is a luxury that does not exist for Black people since they must be “absolutely flawless” to even get a portion of that. “We’re trained to be like, ‘If I’m not exceptional, I won’t be loved.’ Certainly, I think that was my thing,” Gatwa said. “So, yeah, I think I’m just learning now like, ‘You are allowed to be loved.’ You don’t have to be excellent or aspire to that term, ‘Black excellence.’ What the hell?”
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“There’s so much white mediocrity that gets celebrated, and Black people, we have to be absolutely flawless to get half of [that] anyway,” Gatwa continued. “So, I’m slowly training myself out of that and being like, ‘No shit. You deserve love just for existing.’ And that has taught me to be a lot more loving as well, in a weird way.”
According to Variety, Gatwa is the first Black actor to take on a major role in “Doctor Who,” which he said resulted in him being hated on for being apart of the project and says people were “so angry over something so inconsequential” when his casting was first announced.
“We do see a shift happening in casting, in positions of power and in the status quo,” Gatwa added. “I mean, not a fast shift, things could tip over the other way a little bit quicker, but you see people kind of malfunctioning because things are changing.”
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This isn’t the actors first time addressing the hateful comments he received for being apart of the cast. Last year, he spoke with The Hollywood Reporter, and discussed how he’s preparing for the role despite the criticism. Which he said his main goal for the show was to “focus on the job and stay true to what the Doctor is: a mad scientist alien who has adventures and cares about everyone.”
The new season of “Doctor Who” premieres on Friday, May 10 and can be streamed on Disney+.
