Thandie Newton says that racism is still alive and breathing in Hollywood. After auditioning for a movie role, she was left flabbergasted after the studio executive questioned how a black woman could play the part of a college graduate.

She said, “I’ve experienced racism in Hollywood but not as conflict or in a threatening way, just the ignorance of people. There was one time I went for a meeting for this big movie and I was up for a character who wasn’t written as black. The character was a college graduate and the studio head, a woman, said, ‘How can we make this role more black if we are going to have you in the film?’ And I said, ‘Well, I think as it’s written it’s fine…’ And she said, ‘Yeah, I know, but she is a graduate, she has been to college.’ So I said, ‘I’ve been to college.’ And then it was, ‘Yeah, but you’re different.’”

She said that she refused to take the role after that. And who could blame her? That’s just ignorance on their part, she’s a great actress.