Regardless of long-standing rumors that she turned down a task within the 2000s flick, Nia recently revealed she was really informed she seemed “too subtle” and “too outdated” for the half — regardless of being the identical age as Lucy Liu.

The revelation got here as stunning information to Drew Barrymore, who each starred in and produced the movie, and when Nia appeared on her present final week, that they had an in-depth dialogue about the entire thing.

She continued, “However the suggestions was, ‘My eyebrows had been too subtle, and I seemed too outdated subsequent to Drew.’ And that was the suggestions, and I used to be like, ‘What?’ It simply was an odd manner of claiming you did not get the job.”

Whereas Nia says that she is aware of the choice did not have “something to do” with Drew or her manufacturing firm, she says she believes it most likely had one thing to do together with her race.

“I feel what was occurring throughout that point is there have been all these conversations about variety, however individuals weren’t actually pulling the set off,” Nia stated.

“I feel that is only a results of the worry of actually placing a Black girl into a movie that by no means forged anybody Black,” she continued. “It was a primary time for them. There was this initiative to forged extra Black ladies, have extra Black ladies on set, however Hollywood wasn’t fairly doing it.”

Wanting again, Drew agreed that the trade wanted extra variety — and it had been a major concern of her and her manufacturing associate Nancy Juvonen whereas casting Charlie’s Angels.

“[We] virtually felt nervous and unhealthy, if you’ll, when it was me and Cameron [Diaz]. We had been like, ‘Oh God, that does not really feel proper for us,'” Drew recalled. “And the unique Charlie’s Angels had been all white ladies. … There was no variety there.”

When it got here to casting the third member of the trio, Drew stated she knew they had been on the lookout for one thing completely different.

“Once we even went in to current ourselves as producers for the movie, all of our pitches for the mix of the trio all had variety in it, and that was simply one thing that felt proper in our guts on the time,” Drew stated.

Drew added that it was “bewildering” to listen to that somebody would point out Nia’s age or look when letting her know she did not get the position.

“To begin with, Nan and I’d by no means discuss eyebrows. That is the dumbest factor. That is not what ladies would do,” Drew stated, later including that she was “mortified” when she heard what occurred.

“Nan and I’d by no means communicate like that, and so far as age, that is the stupidest factor since you’re really the identical actual quantity and age as Lucy Liu, so how is that attainable?” Drew stated to Nia.

She continued, “And I grew up in an trade the place I used to be like, ‘I can’t fall prey to getting old and all that B.S.,’ like, that can by no means be my factor. I’ve watched too many individuals suckle off the fountain of youth and suppose they had been much less worthy in the event that they seemed older.”

Nia famous that she was “101% constructive that it got here from a studio exec that has no idea in understanding the significance of variety,” not to mention what Drew stands for.

“You have been on this recreation, Drew, for a really very long time. And I do know your coronary heart, and I see your present, and I do know who you’re, so this was by no means something I took private in any respect,” Nia concluded.