{"id":2591018,"date":"2026-04-15T09:56:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T13:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/actress-says-dei-has-become-a-bad-word-after-years-of-hollywood-pushing-identity-politics\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T10:01:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T14:01:15","slug":"actress-says-dei-has-become-a-bad-word-after-years-of-hollywood-pushing-identity-politics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/actress-says-dei-has-become-a-bad-word-after-years-of-hollywood-pushing-identity-politics\/","title":{"rendered":"Actress Says DEI Has Become a &#8216;Bad Word\u2019 After Years of Hollywood Pushing Identity Politics"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">30<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Factress-says-dei-has-become-a-bad-word-after-years-of-hollywood-pushing-identity-politics%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2591018&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Hollywood has been reevaluating its aggressive DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) push as profitability concerns rise, with audiences reportedly favoring entertainment over overt social messaging. The piece argues that the drive for representation, which once led to things like racial quotas and a perceived \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rogan-torches-biden-everybody-knows-hes-out-of-his-mind-hes-barely-hanging-in-there\/\" title=\"Rogan Torches Biden: \u2018Everybody Knows He\u2019s Out Of His Mind,\u2019 \u2018He\u2019s Barely Hanging In There\u2019\">dark period<\/a>\u201d in cinema, did not translate into sustained box-office gains, prompting the industry to shift away from racially charged focus in a post-George floyd era.<\/p>\n<p>A key thread is Issa Rae\u2019s admission to Variety that DEI has become a \u201cbad word\u201d in Hollywood, making it harder to pitch shows with diverse casts. She says she now has to package projects in terms of class rather than race to secure investments, highlighting a broader tendency to market content in ways that don\u2019t trigger resistance from executives. The article also situates this shift within political currents, noting Republican pushback on DEI policies and referencing Rae\u2019s critiques of Trump, along with related comments from first Lady Melania Trump. the piece portrays a tension between <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wyomings-gop-governor-partially-protects-dei-at-university-of-wyoming\/\" title=\"Wyoming&#039;s Republican governor offers partial defense of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at University of Wyoming\">evolving societal expectations<\/a>, industry budgeting, and political influence as Hollywood recalibrates its storytelling and marketing strategies.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>For years, Hollywood had been pushing progressive &ldquo;diversity&rdquo; initiatives into just about every possible venue.<\/p>\n<p>It led to things like the Oscars having <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/oscars-reveal-plans-implement-new-representation-inclusion-standards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">racial quotas<\/a>, and paved the way for a particularly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/year-flopbuster-2023s-10-biggest-box-office-failures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dark period in cinema<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully, Hollywood is always wont to chase dollar signs, and the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >dollar signs simply weren&#038;rsquo<\/a>;t coming in with this proliferation of diversity, equity, and inclusion.<\/p>\n<p>It appears that most moviegoers just want a good story and passable acting instead of any sort of a &ldquo;message.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In turn, Hollywood &mdash; again, never one to turn down a buck &mdash; has largely drifted away from the racially charged focus that had come to characterize much of institutional America in a post-George Floyd world.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>While moviegoers may appreciate this pushback toward movies being more about entertainment than moral lecturing, it appears some in Tinseltown are bristling at the way the societal currents are shifting.<\/p>\n<p>Actress Issa Rae is one such person, and admitted as much to <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/news\/issa-rae-dei-bad-word-hollywood-representation-1236719835\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Issa Rae says she has to be &ldquo;smarter&rdquo; about pitching shows with a diverse cast now that DEI is a &ldquo;bad word&rdquo; in Hollywood:<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You tell them, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s not a show about a Black woman, it&rsquo;s a show about class.&rsquo; As icky as that might feel, it gets the show sold.&rdquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/okh7SnNfqx\">https:\/\/t.co\/okh7SnNfqx<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/uC1Rfg9VtJ\">pic.twitter.com\/uC1Rfg9VtJ<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Variety (@Variety) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Variety\/status\/2043408370011693374?\">April 12, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Variety, Rae opened up that pitching shows to Hollywood execs has become a minefield.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I&rsquo;m seeing it. Just blatantly. People aren&rsquo;t investing like they were before,&rdquo; Rae told the entertainment outlet. &ldquo;[DEI] has changed meanings and has become a bad word.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Rae stressed her intent to tell DEI-focused stories, but admitted that she can&rsquo;t actually pitch them as DEI-focused stories to the people who sign off on shows.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;You have to be smarter about how you package and market [projects],&rdquo; Rae continued. &ldquo;You tell them, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s not a show about a Black woman, it&rsquo;s a show about class.&rsquo; As icky as that might feel, it gets the show sold.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Pushing back against encroaching DEI policies has been a major initiative of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n<p>President Donald Trump has not minced words when it comes to DEI &mdash; which could perhaps explain some of Rae&rsquo;s resistance to these changes, despite the fact they&rsquo;re clearly putting more money into Hollywood.<\/p>\n<p>Rae has been an outspoken critic of Trump. In fact, she&rsquo;s been so negative that it drew a rare, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/melania-trolls-trump-hating-actress-issa-rae-rae-may-cancel-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">subtle rebuke<\/a> from First Lady Melania Trump during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-taking-regeneron-drug-remdesivir-therapy-for-coronavirus-diagnosis-ex-wh-doctor-explains\/\" title=\"... taking Regeneron drug, Remdesivir therapy for coronavirus diagnosis: ex-WH doctor explains\">president&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s first term.<\/p>\n<p>At the time, Rae made the bizarre claim that while she loves that former First Lady Michelle Obama enjoyed her black-focused show &ldquo;Insecure,&rdquo; if Melania Trump had loved the show, she would cancel it.<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s then-director of communications Stephanie Grisham responded with an X <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fat-activist-plus-size-model-tess-holliday-comes-out-as-anorexic\/\" title=\"Fat Activist, Plus-Size Model Tess Holliday Comes Out As Anorexic\">post claiming<\/a> that Melania actually loved &ldquo;Insecure&rdquo; &mdash; so she should cancel the show.<\/p>\n<p>(&ldquo;Insecure&rdquo; ran from October 2016 to December 2021.)<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a paraphrase of the excerpt:<\/p>\n<p>For years, Hollywood pushed broad diversity and inclusion initiatives across many venues, even to the point of racial quotas in the Oscars, which coincided with a darker era in cinema. But the profits didn\u2019t follow this trend, and audiences mostly want a good story and solid acting rather than a clear social message. As a result, the industry has largely stepped back from the racially charged focus that had come to symbolize much of American life after George Floyd\u2019s era. Behind the scenes, some in Hollywood, like Issa Rae, say DEI has become a problematic term that makes it harder to pitch projects with diverse casts. Rae told Variety she must frame shows in terms of class rather than race to get them funded, even while she intends to tell DEI-related stories. The piece notes that pushback against DEI policies has been a major theme of the Trump era, with Rae being a vocal critic of Trump. It also mentions a subtle rebuke from First Lady Melania Trump over Rae\u2019s comments about the show Insecure, which ran from October 2016 to December 2021.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019d like, I can provide a shorter summary or tailor the tone (more formal or more casual)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2591019,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-14T225415.145.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[16574,51272,4361,77810,51518],"class_list":["post-2591018","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-dei","tag-diversity-2","tag-hollywood","tag-identitypolitics","tag-inclusion-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-04-14T225415.145.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591018","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2591018"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2591026,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2591018\/revisions\/2591026"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2591019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2591018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2591018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2591018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}