Black Celebrities Mistaken For One Another

Credit: Mario Mitsis/WENN.com

Raise your hand if you’re tired of mainstream media outlets confusing Black celebrities for other Black celebrities. We figured you would be, ‘cause we are, too.

There’s no reason why time and again, mix-ups like this should happen. Whether it occurs on the red carpet or in a news studio during the middle of an interview, this blatant disregard and inability to differentiate one human being who happens to be brown from another human being who happens to be brown is far beyond embarrassing; it’s offensive and speaks to a much bigger issue at hand. It also needs to stop, and as one mistaken celebrity recently posted on Instagram, folks have to “do better.” Here are but a few celebrities who know this problem all too well.

Kelly McCreary and Jerrika Hinton

After attending the 2016 primetime Emmy Awards, Grey’s Anatomy star Kelly McCreary searched for images of herself online so she could shout out her glam squad. Not able to find anything, she typed in her costar, Jerrika Hinton’s name and, voila. There McCreary was. She was mistaken for her co-star who, get this, wasn’t even in attendance at the Emmys.

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Cuba Gooding Jr. and Terrence Howard

Also at the Emmys, the Television Academy (via Twitter) mistook Empire star Terrence Howard for The People vs. O.J. Simpson star Cuba Gooding Jr. After the post received several likes and retweets, the Academy corrected the mistake.

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Samuel L. Jackson and Laurence Fishburne

KTLA, a Los Angeles news station, had Samuel L. Jackson on live via satellite to talk about his role in the film, RoboCop. During the interview, reporter Sam Rubin asked Jackson about the reaction he received regarding his recent Super Bowl commercial. “What Super Bowl commercial?” Jackson responded. He quickly realized that Rubin had confused him with Laurence Fishburne, the actor in said commercial. Jackson went all the way off on Rubin.

Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah

How someone can mistake Whoopi for Oprah is beyond our comprehension, and yet it happened at the Academy Awards earlier this year.

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Michael Clarke Duncan and Seal

Again, in what world would someone confuse late actor Michael Clarke Duncan with singer Seal? How, Sway? Well, just ask WGRZ news out of Buffalo, New York. They made the mistake.

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Michael Clarke Duncan and Terry Crews

Just like Seal, actor Terry Crews was mistaken for Michael Clarke Duncan by ABC 7 news in Los Angeles. A fail of epic proportions.

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Bill Russell and Morgan Freeman

During an ABC telecast in 2013, news commentator George Stephanopoulos identified 11-time NBA champ Bill Russell as Morgan Freeman. Russell was even wearing a Boston Celtics cap when Stephanopoulos made the error.

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Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis

Black celebrities being mistaken for other Black celebrities is a seriously disturbing trend on red carpets and at awards shows. Just ask Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis. Spencer was mistakenly identified as Davis by E! News at the Academy Awards in 2013.

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Octavia Spencer and Sherri Shepherd

Octavia Spencer and Sherri Shepherd are not the same person. Both have been approached by fellow actors who mistook them for one another. On The View, Shepherd told audiences that she was asked by several people while covering the red carpet at the Academy Awards if she thought she’d win…for The Help, which starred Spencer.