Zendaya has big plans for her career and she wants people to know that she's not in it just for the money. She wants to represent the culture the right way.
In a rare and intimate sit-down interview with fellow actress Issa Rae, the Disney alum revealed one of her ultimate goals in her career and the important lessons she has learned as a BIPOC in the industry.
Scroll down to see what Zendaya had to say.
In the interview, Zendaya said she has a specific goal in mind - to open doors for other black creatives.
"We always have this concept that there can only be one, right? And when you get to the door, you wanna close the door because there's like this one slot. We have to change that mentality because otherwise, how are the opportunities gonna happen?" Zendaya explained.
"When you see creatives who are able to open doors and open opportunities and allow for other creatives to come in, that's a beautiful thing."
Watch the full interview below:
"I wanna be able to continue to get to that point where I can do that and I'm still kind of working to it.." Zendaya continued.
The 25-year-old superstar also expressed thanks to the other "black beauties" that came before her, sharing that she worked with stylist Luxury Law to pay homage to black models who paved the way.
Zendaya is referring to the collection she did with Tommy Hilfiger in 2019, which was inspired a lot by black culture. She casted all black models for the fashion show and pioneering icons Veronica Webb, Beverly Johnson and Pat Cleveland walked the runway.
Aside from celebrating black women, Zendaya also wants to celebrate love between two black girls.
In a separate interview, she has said she wants to create “a simple love story about two Black girls.”
“I don’t want it to be rooted in anything other than just a story about two people falling in love and that’s it. Something simple and beautiful, that leaves you happy and wanting to fall in love yourself,” Zendaya explained.
Zendaya's idea may have been inspired by her character in Euphoria, where she plays Rue, a troubled teen in a complicated relationship with a trans girl.
While the HBO Max series became controversial for its hard-hitting teen issues, it was an instant hit and received a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The drama series showcased Zendaya's impressive acting skills and earned her a Best Drama Actress Emmy award, making her the youngest ever winner in the category.
