Djimon Hounsou: My Son Wanted To Be Light-Skinned So He Could Be Spider-Man

Kenzo Lee & father Djimon Hounsou

Djimon Hounsou Son Wanted To Be Light-Skinned

In a new interview, Djimon Hounsou reveals that his son (whom he shares with fashion designer Kimora Lee Simmons) told him that he wanted to change the color of his skin so that he could be Spider-Man.

While discussing black superheroes like Black Panther and Luke Cage now being introduced to the public, Djimon said,

It’s about time! It’s absolutely great news to have a hero that black folks can identify with. Could you imagine my misfortune when my son told me: “I want to be light-skinned so I can climb the walls like Spider-Man” – just because he has seen Spider-Man and Batman and all these superheroes who were all white.

The minute he said it, I was like, damn. My whole self was shattered. I was like, wow, what sort of comeback do you have for this? It’s important to recognise yourself. It’s absolutely important. That’s the value in telling stories. There’s a reason why we create fantasy stories, so we can surpass this life condition.

Djimon Hounsou

When asked if he thinks there haven’t been any acting nominees of color for two years because the Academy favors films where the black characters are subservient to white characters, he responds:

Interesting. That’s possible! I choke on that, but the reality is also: how many other films are out there about black folks? How many elevating stories about black folks are out there?

You have a slave movie, you have a comedy and that’s that. There’s nothing else to nominate. It comes back to the lack of narratives out there for African characters.

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