Wunmi Mosaku has spoken out about the difficulty of having to film a rape scene in Lovecraft Country.
The actress was nominated at the US Critics’ Choice Television Awards for her performance as blues singer Ruby Baptiste, in the HBO horror series.
WARNING: The rest of this article contains details some readers may find upsetting
In the episode, Strange Case, Ruby wakes up after being dosed with a magical potion to find herself in the body of a white woman.
Later, towards the end of the episode we see a shocking scene when Ruby rapes her white department store boss with a stiletto heel as vengeance for his attempted sexual assault of her only Black colleague.
In an interview with the NME, the actress said she “really struggled” with the scene.
She added: “We are used to seeing violence against Black women, but we’re not used to seeing violence by a Black woman to a white man.
“So I thought that was actually quite important. I thought, ‘Oh gosh, people are really going to have a problem with this’. But shocking as it is, why are we okay with seeing Black women being raped on screen, and not okay with violence the other way? We’re just not used to seeing the patriarchy flipped over in this way.”
Baptiste is next set to appear in Marvel’s hugely anticipated Loki series starring Tom Hiddleston. Mosaku’s character name has yet to be revealed.
When asked by NME what she can say about it, she replied: “I can say… that it’s out on June 11 on Disney+. It is very secretive, but I like that because I don’t like spoilers. And I can tell you that it’s great!”
If you have experienced sexual violence, you can seek support from RAINN (US) by visiting their website or calling 800.656.HOPE. In the UK, you can contact The Survivors’ Trust on 08088 010 818.
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