Mad Men, Eastsiders star on ‘cowardice’ in US towards diversity

Six-time Emmy nominee Kit Williamson has urged the US entertainment industry to push back against the effects of Donald Trump’s efforts to cut diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

Trump has been a vocal critic of DEI policies and earlier this year issued a raft of executive orders that were aimed at cutting programmes within both the public and private sectors.

Many US studios, which had already engaged in reshuffles that saw a flurry of chief diversity officers departing, have further reduced their commitments in the wake of threats from the Trump administration.

Disney axed its Reimagine Tomorrow initiative, with Paramount, Warner Bros Discovery and Amazon also making similar moves, while a Federal Communications Commission investigation into DEI was launched at NBCUniversal and Comcast.

There has, however, also been support for DEI and last month US actors union SAG-AFTRA adopted a resolution that described DEI as a “moral imperative” that remains “crucial to the creative and economic vitality” of the industry.

Williamson, who created Netflix’s Eastsiders and starred in NBC’s The Good Life, told an audience here at SeriesFest in Denver that the US entertainment industry is showing “trepidation and cowardice” and urged support for diverse programming.

“Thinking about it from just a storytelling and creative perspective, living through the last Trump administration, we saw a huge groundswell of support for stories that centered on marginalised communities.

“I think that there’s a trepidation and, quite frankly, some cowardice that’s happening right now in the entertainment industry and with major corporations.”

The actor likened the actions of companies that had stepped away from DEI initiatives “as just basically code speak for go f**k yourselves”.

Williamson has most recently been behind Unconventional, the first scripted series for LGBTQ streaming network Revry.

The show tracks the life of a queer millennial struggling with his marriage while also becoming a sperm donor to his sister’s wife, and he said creatives should continue to look to push boundaries in storytelling.

“While the backlash is real and ongoing, I think it’s up to us to continue forging ahead and not quieten down and not to silence or censor ourselves and not succumb to art for the sake of respectabilities. That is never going to be very interesting.

“As long as you lead with authenticity, hopefully, we’re on the right course.”