Malala calls out Hollywood: Muslim actors only make up 1% roles in shows

Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist, talked about representation in Hollywood. She brought up the fact that only 1% of popular TV show leads are Muslim actors.

“Abbott Elementary” creator Quinta Brunson presented Yousafzai with her Variety honor, calling her one of “the most influential advocates of our time, ” reports aVariety’.

Yousafzai, who is still the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize, just announced the first projects that will be made by her production company, Extracurricular.

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The group is run by Yousafzai and her head of production, Erika Kennair. Last year, Yousafzai and Kennair made a deal with Apple TV+ to make shows for a number of years.

Yousafzai’s first projects have a lot of different kinds of people in them, which shows how much she wants to tell stories that haven’t always been told in Hollywood.

Yousafzai, who is still the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize, just announced the first projects that will be made by her production company, Extracurricular.

The group is run by Yousafzai and her head of production, Erika Kennair. Last year, Yousafzai and Kennair made a deal with Apple TV+ to make shows for a number of years.

Yousafzai’s first projects have a lot of different kinds of people in them, which shows how much she wants to tell stories that haven’t always been told in Hollywood.

“I learned that Asian people like me make up less than 4 per cent of leads in Hollywood films. Muslims are 25 per cent of the population, but only 1 per cent of characters in popular TV series, ” Yousafzai underscored at the Power of Women dinner.

“I know that the executives have passed on dozens of quality, equally amazing projects because they thought that the characters or their creators were too young, too Brown, too foreign, too poor, ” she remarked. “Sometimes it feels like they’re saying we just don’t belong here.”

On October 9, it will be 10 years since Yousafzai became, at 15, a survivor of a ruthless assassination attempt on a child by the Taliban.

Speaking at Variety’s event, Yousafzai spoke about the formative experience at 11 years old that set her on a path toward activism, pushing to champion creative perspectives from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds in the entertainment industry.

“I know the tale of having a dream and being told to forget it, ” Yousafzai said. “Today, I am a storyteller, activist and producer.”