“It’s constantly evolving.”
Latasha Gillespie can remember the exact moment she saw herself represented onscreen for the first time.
“It changed my life.”
Latasha Gillespie at the AAPI VOICES event.Jonathan Leibson/Amazon/Shutterstock
Gillespie made sure the directives were a collaborative effort between her team and the talent.
Where does it feel restricting?
Where does it feel bureaucratic?
Cast of Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.James Clark/Amazon Studios
Where should we be going harder?
Am I being as equitable as possible?
But not be bureaucratic so much so that it’s a roadblock."
And so we wanted them to be safe, feel safe, like somebody had their back."
Gillespie is not at all surprised she ended up working as an advocate for underrepresented communities in Hollywood.
“I’ve always been advocating for other people,” she tells EW.
He was always encouraging me to use my voice, to advocate for myself.
So I had a lot of situations where I was ‘the only’."
That empathy has proven invaluable in her current work.
asksWith Loveshowrunner Calderon Kellett.
“Latasha gives it a wink and that one in a million smile.
“The definition continues to expand.
We’re having conversations now around the trans and non-binary community that we weren’t having five years ago.
It’s constantly evolving.
It just may look different in India than it does in Brazil.”
And if I can do that, then that feels great.”
