Actress Zendaya may have moved on from Disney Channel after singing alongside Zac Efron in The Greatest Showman and playing Michelle “MJ” Jones in Spider-Man: Homecoming, but she’s open to returning if it means more roles for women of color.
Zendaya recently wrapped K.C. Undercover — a typical Disney Channel comedy that lasted three seasons. She spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the series and how she wants to help promote more diversity in Hollywood.
“I definitely want to maybe produce another show with Disney Channel,” she said. “Maybe develop something or create more stories that I think are powerful roles — especially for women and women of color. So, I think it’s important that young people see themselves on the screen and are able to relate to that.”
In addition to starring in K.C. Undercover, Zendaya was also a producer on the show. She, according to the Huffington Post, had a big hand in bringing diversity into K.C. Undercover — having demanded that the show features a family of color and that her character’s personality wasn’t reduced to simply singing or dancing.
“The No. 1 thing of this show all along was empowerment — especially female empowerment,” Zendaya said to Entertainment Weekly. “I wanted to make sure that there was a strong female character, and I think it’s cool that young women and young men can both look up and say, ‘Wow, I want to be like this girl.’ If you love something and you’re excited, there should be nothing holding you back from doing that.”
We’re fully on board with Zendaya to return to Disney Channel and promote more diversity. In the meantime, catch Zendaya in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel, as well as an upcoming biopic about the first African-American woman to attend Vassar College entitled A White Lie.