The Londoner: Campaign to end bias against ethnic hair types

In today's Diary: Unions campaign to change hair and make-up provision / Mark Gatiss joins campaign to save theatre / Andy Serkis's unique take on Einstein / Stanley Johnson not aware of criticism of son's government
Support: Eunice Olumide
Mike Marsland/WireImage
18 May 2020

Actors’ union Equity and Bectu, which represents broadcast workers, are launching a campaign and survey to improve hair and make-up provision for black, Asian and minority ethnic talent.

Equity member and actress Koral Neil said a make-up artist “once looked at my hair … and just went ‘pfft.’ It was demoralising as I’d just seen my co-star having all her hair and make-up needs met. I didn’t have the same luxury.”

Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, an activist and TV pundit, told us “What took them so long? Hair discrimination has long been a form of oppression on black people in the workplace and at schools. Eurocentric standards used to judge our hair type and ethnic hairstyles as substandard is nothing short of prejudiced and is unacceptable.”

Model Eunice Olumide welcomed the news, saying “Everyone, no matter their race, wants to look and feel great when they are in front of the world. When I first started with my natural afro curls and looks, they thought they could use pencil as concealer as they didn’t stock foundation for black or dark skin.

“I’m proud of the direction we’re moving in: it marks an exciting time for inclusion and diversity as a whole.”

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Joining the fight: Ian Hallard and Mark Gatiss (Photo: Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

Mark Gatiss has become the latest big name to support north London theatre pub King’s Head, which is raising £100,000 to try to survive the coronavirus crisis. Gatiss and his husband Ian Hallard told The Stage: “The King’s Head is a wonderful institution and it would be such a tragedy if we were to lose it.” Can the iconic venue be saved?

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Wallflower: Andy Serkis (Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Composer Nitin Sawhney says when he met Gollum actor Andy Serkis on a theatre set he didn’t realise what a “force of nature” he was. “He literally climbed up this wall at phenomenal speed … I was like ‘what the hell’”. Especially as the character Serkis was playing was Nobel prize-winning physicist Albert Einstein. How precious.

SW1A​

Stanley Johnson has apologised after he was pictured shopping without a face covering
AFP via Getty Images

STANLEY JOHNSON has well-attuned ears. When a Greek newspaper asked him about criticism of his son’s government, Johnson replied: “I didn’t notice that he’s received a lot of criticism; it doesn’t seem to me [he has].” It’s all Greek to him.

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After the furore about Keir Starmer buying a field as a donkey sanctuary for his ill mother, Tory MP Julian Knight chimes in: “What a lovely thing to do for his mum, mine just got a Kenwood food mixer.”

AJ fluffs up, Jessie wipes up. (Chin up, Selena...)

Presenter AJ Odudu rocked some fluffy footwear after she “found a new spot to take selfies”. Strong slipper game. Meanwhile singer Selena Gomez channelled The Thinker as she rested her chin on her fist for a selfie, telling her fans: “I had an urge to put my make-up on”. And Jessie J gave fans a point of view shot of what it was like to be a box delivered to her, which she cleaned with an anti-bacterial wipe: “You like that don’t you. You dirty little box.”

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