Stunt Performers Call On SAG-AFTRA To End “Paint-Downs” And “Wigging”

SAG-AFTRA Dozens of stunt performers have signed a letter sent today to the leadership of SAG-AFTRA calling for an end to “wigging” – the age-old practice of putting wigs and dresses on stuntmen so they can double for actresses – and “paint-downs,” in which dark make-up is applied to white stunt performers so that they can double for actors of color. “In the stunt industry, diversity and inclusion have long been overlooked and discouraged, and it’s long past time for these practices to end,” said stuntwoman Crystal Santos , who spearheaded the campaign. The union’s contract with employers has long required stunt coordinators to “endeavor” to find qualified women and stunt performers of color to double for women and actors of color, but does not outright ban “wigging” or “paint-downs.” “We have watched from the outside as white stunt performers are painted down, or men wigged in a grotesque simulation of those of us denied employment,” the letter says. “Modern-day blackface is Hollywood’s shameful secret.” These practices, their letter says, have been going on “for decades,” with employers and stunt coordinators overlooking qualified women and stunt performers of color “via nepotism, racism, intimidation and slander,” while “our talents are […]

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