Kristen Bell is known for always keeping it real. Regardless of the subject matter, the 40-year-old is known for being open and honest with her fans, even if that means owning up to a mistake.
The actress, and mom of two, faced backlash earlier this year for accepting the role of a mixed-race character in the animated show Central Park.
Kristen immediately received backlash for playing Molly, whose character has a black father and a white mother.
"But then we couldn’t make Molly white and we couldn’t make Kristen mixed race so we just had to go forward," she explained.
Umbrella Academy's Emmy Raver-Lampman was hired for the role of Molly.
"I grew up in Detroit. I didn’t consider myself an ounce of a racist," she explained.
"And when I read How to Be an Antiracist [and] White Fragility — required reading of a citizen of Earth in 2020 — I realized, ‘Well, I’ve been a part of these systems.’ I was unaware of this whole pot of [expletive] that’s been stirring,"
"The people who say I could play that role aren’t wrong. But I wanted to step down for two reasons. One, if there was one girl who could have a job who wouldn’t otherwise have a job, because there are not a lot of Black or mixed race characters on cartoons — if one girl could have that job, I would want her to have it."
"It’s absolutely the right decision," Kristen concluded. "And it went to absolutely the right girl."
What a great example of learning from a mistake and using it to better yourself!
h/t: Romper
