Vanessa Bell Calloway Believes Colorism Played A Part In “Coming To America” Casting

If you ever wondered if there was colorism in the classic “Coming to America” production, you may be right.

Vanessa Bell Calloway, who played Imani Izzi in the 1988 classic, believes that her complexion was the reason why she didn’t land the main role.

The Hollywood veteran said she auditioned for the role of Eddie Murphy‘s love interest but instead was tasked with barking like a dog while hopping on one leg.

Shari Headley eventually landed the role as Lisa McDowell.

“When you have white people hiring black people in movies, sometimes a certain look is wanted,” Calloway, 67, tells Page Six. Calloway got the impression that the film’s team “wanted a light-skinned girl.”

“I just wasn’t light enough, even though Eddie had the final say on who played Lisa.”

She continued, “That’s something that we’ve always dealt with within our race: A lot of men were indoctrinated by having a white woman or light-skinned woman on their arm.”

“I didn’t want the part of Imani, I wanted to be Lisa — I had read the script and I wanted the bigger role.”

Sneak Peek: Amazon Studios Release Its First Look At Coming 2 America

In the end, she says she weighed her options and realized that a small role in an Eddie Murphy film was better than no role at all, and decided to take part in the movie despite her initial doubts.

Calloway will be making a special appearance in the new “Coming 2 America” movie.

The film will begin streaming March 5 on Amazon Prime.