Lupita Nyong'o Captures Her Struggle with Colorism in a Children's Book

Lupita Nyong'o exchanges favorite dad jokes with Jimmy and shares how her struggle with colorism inspired her (nearly) autobiographical children's book, Sulwe.
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Lupita Nyong'o Captures Her Struggle with Colorism in a Children's Book
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[@Lovelydia-pt1cj]

She’s the perfect role model for young girls. We need more ladies like Lupita

[@emeraldgreenqueenidontplay4913]

Yeah she’s a real African queen that’s proud of her heritage and natural beautiful 🤩. Unlike most African Americans who hate their natural African features. Black and dark skinned is beautiful 😻

[@Nana-wi4gi]

@@emeraldgreenqueenidontplay4913 This comment is so short sighted it's painful. The reason a lot of African American women may feel their features aren't attractive is the SAME reason why Lupita felt she was ugly growing up.

[@Amanda-ie4vw]

For everybody....

[@Sagha4]

I hope this book reaches an international audience as it’s about time the old paradigm dissolves for good!

[@Xelljon]

Greetings from Germany - already pre-ordered two! Went through similar experiences going through childhood. I'm so happy about this book! It'll be a must-read item for my kids.

[@GrandMasterAbe]

Please not. Kids in other parts of the world does not this bourgeois nonsense.

[@NellieKAdaba]

S.A. Model 👍

[@tedwards1025]

@@GrandMasterAbe It's not bourgeois. Colorism is a terrible blight on humanity that children and adults alike struggle with in every country on Earth.

[@Herman40567]

Seing this in Australia! She is gorgeous, I agree :)

[@e.k.5145]

The baby on the cover of her book is adooorable

[@fromarmania9103]

I love how elegantly she speaks yet still sounds so down to earth. Love the message. Love her!

[@KimaliSmith]

Go Checkout the big Hit Single from Jamaica New sensation 🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲💥💥💥💥💯💯💯💯🔥🔥🔥🔥open.spotify.com/album/5jNsbG190vYWM8IVU9At8K

[@MawenMendoza]

Same☺️

[@CoolWavyBaby]

YES❗❗IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL❗❗😩💬💨💫🎶🎵🎼

[@namiahajarah3473]

FromArmania right.. I wish I sounded like her😜😅

[@stuffnuns]

Truly, Lupita is one of the most beautiful women on earth.

[@lisa.222]

Ok wow she je one of the most beautifull. Nobody je the most beautifull woman in the world

[@misspyro4618]

@@lisa.222 Nah she is

[@lisa.222]

@@misspyro4618 ayt ayt touché

[@rhondaroberts7617]

Yes she really is 💓💕

[@tanujaaravikumar2710]

I'm so proud of her for addressing colourism 👏👏👏

[@gale_poot]

@Eric Bowman troll troll troll

[@wildhopeXx]

Eric Bowman trolllllllllllllll byeee

[@chuckdriver7741]

Colorism without the “u” is a made up term to label another made up problem. She didn’t like her dark skin as a child, that doesn’t mean it’s whitey’s fault.

[@pierretoussaint8426]

@@chuckdriver7741 says the person who never went through colorism you don't even know what color is

[@icecreamladydream]

stop. Myself and others have spent out life dealing with colorism and this woman is just now talking about it because of people like me. She is an opportunist. She is using colorism to get PR and to sell a book. This is such bs and you people fall for this mess when this lady has no track record of speaking on the issue...im so angry about this.....

[@griffinjames4585]

Her stylist never misses a beat

[@krisetsitty4960]

She's such a beautiful person!

[@rebecahj]

The fact that Lupita would ever think she wasn't gorgeous is INSANE!

[@reneeknight1028]

Your statement is insane this world is insane

[@noirmative9293]

Welcome to the world.

[@antotheja251]

It's funny bc her skin is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

[@sara78889]

Same.

[@sumeya1923]

John Jack no one fucking said that.Letvus say Her dark skin is beautiful!.The world doesn’t revolve around lighter skinned people

[@A-Dubs398]

@@sumeya1923 No one said the world revovles around lighter skin.

[@sumeya1923]

MrKockNoker yet ignorant people in the comments want to talk about lighter skinned people..they shouldn’t have made that comment..it was unnecessary.period.end of story.

[@A-Dubs398]

@@sumeya1923 I literally never said anything about light skin. I just said, "you must not get out much." That's it.

[@jollyjokress3852]

My mother always said I should not go in the sun because it is ugly when I become too dark. I can become very dark. I forgot about the stuff but this Interview reminded me of it.

[@elisejackson2854]

is she still that way?

[@joycelynsampson2701]

Jolly Jokress I’m glad your mom’s comments didn’t mess with your mind, causing you to associate dark with ugly. Thankfully, more parents/adults are now aware of how much damage they can do to children’s confidence and self worth.

[@jollyjokress3852]

@@elisejackson2854 yup. Now she adds that I'm too fat to be pretty and sh**. Quote: "you are so petty when you are slim. which was a 15 yrs ago when I weighed 20 kg less and I was a teen. I'm always like: who cares???

[@jollyjokress3852]

@@joycelynsampson2701 she's Asian so it may be an Asian thing. They have all these stupid whitening cremes, try to avoid sun and so on. But I live in Germany, here the people like getting some tan.

[@elisejackson2854]

@@jollyjokress3852 please tell me you call her out on it.

[@ethiothinker]

The fact that she even doubts that she is gorgeous in every sense points out how ridiculous can social constructs be... thank you for the book Lupita.

[@Pikoro09]

I honestly think you can not get more beautiful than this woman

[@brigittedemers1607]

I know right!? She's stunning

[@sabrinavirk702]

This made me cry so much for some reason. People don’t understand the struggle of colorism in this white beauty world. Things are changing. But I am a product of what she is talking about 100% 😢

[@cristina.adsc3589]

i am one of the whitest in my family and i remember ppl would tell me that i would look pale and sick and i hated my skincolor when i became a little bit older, i wanted to be darker bc i thought darker skin was just prettier. I even went to a solarium a few times so i could wear a skirt or short sleeves during hot weather. but i also hated and still tanning, staying long hours in the sun is just boring and i prefer doing something else. now i feel more comfortable with my skin color and even if my family tell me that i should get tanned, i would reply nah thanks i am good the way i am

[@sabrinavirk702]

Derek Lowe 👏🏽 white privilege at its finest. Open a history book. Or look around you at how things operate.

[@The1998Deck]

@Derek Lowe - you're deliberately trolling... trying to get a reaction based on race, but then turn around and say that everyone else is obsessed. Projection Much?

[@em.415]

Derek Lowe Colonialism. Try picking up a book once in a while.

[@thegworlsarefighting]

She needs to send Gilbert arenas a signed copy because his dark skinned daughter will probably experience the same things he shamed lupita for.

[@shawnpreston1639]

LMAO...chile, being dark is goin' to be the least of her problems; she has Gilbert Arenas as a "father," that comes with a whole host of issues.

[@thegworlsarefighting]

shawn preston right but he needs to ashamed of himself calling dark skinned bw ugly when his daughter his dark skinned... hope he’s ready for his karma

[@highpriestess3947]

That part!

[@green_a.o2903]

couldn't agree more

[@prisca5417]

give your life to Jesus.

[@busstop5165]

She is the most beautiful human being, both inside and out and the fact that she didn’t think she was good enough is absolutely heart breaking

[@ThomasBryant]

She is, IMO, one of thee most beautiful woman I have ever seen, but even beyond that.... beautiful person in general inside and out. I hope she has finally learned to love herself and know that others love her too. Her book could be yet another positive force for change.

[@matwilliams2031]

"We should love ourselves, because in God's eyes we are beautiful."

[@matwilliams2031]

@Terri Freeman "Thanks for replying nice person."

[@misspyro4618]

@@matwilliams2031 Troll heathen

[@ashypoojary.8113]

Her voice 🔥.

[@tedwards1025]

The fact that colorism means a woman as beautiful as Lupita didn't know she was beautiful is a travesty. I really hope this book helps normalize different skin colors for children and helps other kids struggling with this to see they're not alone. Between this and being name dropped as an example in Brown Skin Girl and just being such a beautiful dark skinned celebrity, Lupita has been doing so much to fight colorism and I so hope it helps children around the world who are bullied and adults who are passed over for jobs etc because their skin is darker than other people's.

[@RedHair651]

The beauty of her skin is so deep I’m still falling.

[@bi.fruitsalad]

Her laugh is like heaven 🥺

[@bi.fruitsalad]

She's so beautiful with this skin colour I'm glad she didn't change it ❤️

[@islandgirlruby2750]

That’s why representation is so important.

[@sammyytube5999]

Dang what a beautiful message for the book. I get emotional thinking about her and others feeling this way growing up in society's perception of beauty during their youth.

[@shanec9840]

If I had money I would buy a lot of copies of this book and donate it them to public libraries, schools, and churches everywhere.

[@flutterby8462]

What a great way to use your platform. I hope this book reaches many families and children. 💕

[@soneetajusana]

❤️ Lupita what a humble human being. Awesome Girl. God bless you 🙏 🙏

[@childofjesusrose622]

her skin is so smooth and beautiful I wish she could reveal her skin care!!

[@lisatalev]

What a beautiful human, inside & out. Love this so much. 🥰

[@faebalina7786]

My neice is 6 and told me she wants to be white.My heart broke.She is so adorable and has the bubbliest little personality but she only ever sees white faces achieving things or in her favourite films that she has decided that she wants to be like them instead because then she may be able to do 'those' things too

[@faebalina7786]

Lol how she is an immigrant child in A white environment and she understands that she isn’t of the dominant group

[@maxmusic5380]

Cast her as Catwoman

[@buffywasright]

So even the most beautiful girl on the planet has to deal with self-worth, identity and race issues. Part of me really wasn’t expecting this. Not trying to be stupid or fake here, this is genuinely heartbreaking. It means absolutely no one is immune to this. She is so beautiful it’s scary. And on a lighter note, if she wasn’t Nakia already, she should be Storm in the MCU now that the X-Men are back.

[@TeaWitcher]

Yeh this dress and the hair is everythinggg

[@bettersecret1499]

She is one of the most beautiful women in the world! All my life I desired to marry a black man to have black children if possible, probably because I don't live in America so I didn't know about a racism that big until I have learned English, so to me dark skin was like for my friend who wanted a blue eyed boyfriend, just one of the beautiful feature on a human body. I married a white man in the end, and yet I do have black children, but it happened by chance because I adopted and in my country you don't see the kids until you say yes to them. And they are BEAUTIFUL and sweet and smart and I am going to kick the ass of anyone who is going to make them feel 'less than' 😡

[@ambition1224]

What country are you from?

[@topistarnelima6797]

@@ambition1224 she's Kenyan

[@bettersecret1499]

Lupita is from Africa, I am not 😊

[@geoffreyfeinberg9792]

She's talented. She good in everything she has done.

[@viola7052]

The cover of that book is beautiful, the baby is so cute

[@mikaylakimberly]

She’s literally gorgeous

[@alexanderowiti-lucas583]

She is literally the most attractive human ever

[@bi.fruitsalad]

1:23 that is the cutest laugh I've ever heard

[@carlydubbya7620]

like Garth Brooks says, Thank God for unanswered prayers

[@jesusiskorean1508]

her “yA” at 3:16 is so adorable

[@driguito09]

This is a very important book. Children need to read this.

[@icecreamladydream]

Oh please...yall are so fooled by these celebrities.. Cant you see this lady is jumping on the dark skin train that other people have created. Such bs.....she does not deserve to capitalize and get credit for the work that other people have done.

[@driguito09]

Who hurt sis?!

[@mesyloveethiopi3938]

I love somebody talk about this problem. I really respect what you do.

[@chrisez3188]

I like how “weapon” and “gift” are synonyms in her mind reminds me of Arrival (Sci-fi)

[@asiliaafricananimalranch8484]

She is gorgeous, smart and so beautiful with her perfect dark skin.. And to my wife if you run into my comment your gorgeous, beautiful, smart, funny and my wife!! The wonderful amazing women that i enjoy everyday with.. With you right next to me sharing our love, life and happiness together...

[@MarceloPereira-vm8yp]

Lupita is the one of most beautiful women that I've seen. And she is so cute!

[@bi.fruitsalad]

”God performs miracles” But it also loves everyone just the way they are :)

[@mainsmain]

God doesnt exist

[@marcusraysor4028]

Lupita looks like Erika Alexander from 'Living Single'

[@Nobodysurvivesevenonebit]

Lupita is such a down to earth

[@goldmother2238]

Never seen more beautiful skin! Exquisite

[@albatla]

She always remind of Audrey Hepburn. The same grace, same glamour and the way she talks, captivating

[@kcastano6733]

I hope that book can be available in many languages

[@ImTheCookieMonster95]

About 77 percent of nigerian woman bleach their skin (according to WHO). In India skin bleaching is very common aswell. This is a really global problem that colonialism brought to people of color and their countries and unfortunatly it still lingers.

[@pierretoussaint8426]

That's not true I've been to Nigeria three times and that's a lie or the bleaching cream is not working it's one of the two you're not going to tell me that a hundred million women bleach because that's how many women are in Nigeria over a hundred million

[@user-tn6fg2du6v]

Sarah thinks it’s about 70% in Nigeria but your point still stands

[@CO-ig3yw]

i'm Nigerian and 90% is a flat out lie. A lot of people bleach, but its probably not even half of the population. Majority of the celebrities are bleached but the regular citizens are mostly brown to very dark. I'm not very dark (no bleach either) but I know I'm in the minority

[@ImTheCookieMonster95]

@@CO-ig3yw You are right the number is not 90% but actually 77%. www.stearsng.com/article/nigerias-skin-bleaching-epidemic

[@ImTheCookieMonster95]

@The9jagurl *77 % just checked.

[@CEELOW3000]

I love her dark chocolate skin - she is BEAUTIFUL

[@shvl7741]

She's gorgeous!!💗

[@178som]

One of these days Jimmy gonna say " you all are getting one copy" lol

[@Sphinx83029]

I absolutely love her. She is so inspiring ❤️❤️

[@TheSamleigh]

Bullying is life killing.

[@Herman40567]

Love her! She's so amazing

[@beth90]

I just love her so much! My family is white, and I’m going to get this book for my daughter :)

[@knm505]

Lupita is so beautiful and talented - and I love the messages that she spreads to others, especially young girls. She's really inspirational.

[@StephanieJ777]

Dark skinned people are SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

[@brigittedemers1607]

Lupita! You're skin is gorgeous! YOU'RE gorgeous!

[@pinkrose372]

That outfit though😍

[@jericholacey5611]

I love you lupita. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@saragreen5921]

Lupita, you're absolutely stunning! 💫❤😍

[@champagnegold8614]

Lupita looks so beautiful!!!!

[@chaniecekinglife14]

She seems so beautiful.. inside out

[@metube2634]

I totally agree with all the POSITIVE comments about this young lady.

[@peace9739]

She is flawless

[@cristinasolano6487]

For when Born a Crime movie?! I need it in my life.

[@NewMessage]

My Dad's jokes always involved way more swearing.

[@wintsyyy]

Lupita you didn't have some pizza? 😂😂😂

[@tejayjr.9893]

BEAUTIFUL 😍

[@dogblues4829]

Love Her

[@barbararommy]

I love her!❤️

[@natedoggg2002]

Lupita is the Epitome of Beauty and the Definition of Perfection! ❤😍🌹💍#ChocolatePhenomenon 🍫😋

[@niccolom4556]

And yet she still hasnt been offered a mainstream, lovely main character role in a romcom. Only slave torture scenes and a horror movie. What does that say about how Hollywood still views (dark) Blackness?

[@bettersecret1499]

You know that lots of actors LOATHE rom com, like they are a lower form of art? Maybe she doesn't want to do one, since she decided by herself to be Trevor Noah's mother in the future movie she obviously has opinions and possibilities to choose projects. Also we are in a down phase for the genre, there are very few of them. Where is the new dirty dancing? The new when harry met sally? Someone NEEDS to write something romantic right now XD

[@niccolom4556]

better secret You cant choose/reject whats not offered to you lmao nice try.

[@niccolom4556]

Little Mani ? I named her most famous ones lol. Its rly simple. Hollywood has still not shown a perception that dark Blackness is desirable.

[@niccolom4556]

Little Mani How dumb are you. Media IS one key form of racism and a medium to disseminate those thoughts. You sound like one of those dumb Black chicks who dream about a White husband LOL.

[@Veritas24]

Mockavel Velli ,what’s wrong with dreaming about white husband if that’s what your heart desire ?

[@shawnageorge4649]

This made me tear up God is so amazing He did answer her prayer with her same dark skin she was on a magazine as the most beautiful God is Awesome.

[@obamabinladen3031]

While it’s important to accept who yourself for who you are. We’re called to love God before all else, which includes ourselves

[@the1andonlyAMAZON]

She is gorgeous

[@cristina.adsc3589]

i am one of the whitest in my family and i remember ppl would tell me that i would look pale and sick and i hated my skincolor when i became a little bit older, i wanted to be darker bc i thought darker skin was just prettier. I even went to a solarium a few times so i could wear a skirt or short sleeves during hot weather. but i also hated and still tanning, staying long hours in the sun is just boring and i prefer doing something else. now i feel more comfortable with my skin color and even if my family tell me that i should get tanned, i would reply nah thanks i am good the way i am

[@MK-qh8nq]

False equivalence

[@GreenUptowner]

She is so beautiful! Wow!

[@K1NG_D0ME]

Its crazy to think there are ppl that hate others cuz of their color.. it's... Odd. I've been raised in the south. I've seen it plenty. But those ppl aren't allowed in my life. Straight ignorance.

[@dennishopper2701]

Beautiful Woman

[@spookyryu]

Pero tu piel es hermosa Lupita

[@SurfergirlKH]

She’s amaziiiing!

[@dogblues4829]

Where are they selling the book

[@adriennereed2202]

Crying

[@AliceOfWonders]

Recently I was over at someone's home and I was so surprised to find a moisturizer with "skin lightening" properties on their counter. It jarred me, esp bc she's already quite light-skinned, and is a grandmother many times over ... I'm sad that this is something she cares about at all.

[@Jaqvander]

Sure it's sad, and also understandable: inherited beliefs are hard to let go. Look around you. We're all just walking around being triggered by inherited beliefs.

[@pierretoussaint8426]

Those are actually people who idolize Europeans but not all black people idolize Europeans they have no problem with their skin

[@auchiethomas2560]

Lupita is amazing 😍

[@lizatizitagobey4747]

I think every dark skinned girl can relate to this waking up hoping you're lighter was basically part of my morning thoughts too. Which even hearing from her I realised how bad it is. Colourism is a big problem I wish Jimmy would have discussed it even more rather than almost trying to change the subject. Thanks Lupita

[@Esi153]

Jimmy is so competitive!

[@kanyetothe]

Love her!

[@evanderzufarsetiawan2511]

She's awesome

[@RRTACO]

No lupita I am the king of dad jokes.

[@Sologaming2201]

strong and brave

[@newvision4l314]

@John Jack and? blame your fellow whites for giving her money. Why do you care so much?

[@newvision4l314]

@John Jack there are tons of Chinese integrating into Africa for business dumb ass. There's also a bunch of white hipsters moving into Inglewood which is SOOO GHETTO AND BLACK!

[@kingmoney05]

SHE IS GORGEOUS..DAMN..

[@purplespite]

I still can't believe she's Mexican.

[@reneeknight1028]

I still can't believe you are this corny

[@pierretoussaint8426]

She's not Mexican she's Kenyan by Blood born in Mexico you can put oranges Apple's together but those oranges and apples are still going to be oranges and apples