There’s a new generation of talent ready to take over Hollywood.
On Wednesday, Teen Vogue debuted its new “Young Hollywood 2021” issue, featuring a series of cover stars that includes Charli D’Amelio, Michael Le, Lil Yachty, Elsa Majimbo, Ziwe Fumudoh.
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“Whatever you put out is who you’re perceived as. It’s really easy to create a narrative,” says rapper Lil Yachty, who has been making moves into TV and cryptocurrency. “You can use social media in any way possible to build an image or break an image. I’ve learned how to successfully bend the narrative of any situation possible that I’m involved in because I know how to work the internet.”
Majimbo, an up-and-coming comedian, says of being Black in the comedy world, “I had this bias that white people are better and they should always come out on top and they should always have the most. I realized that that had been instilled in me. And I was just like, ‘No, this is very nonsensical’…And even though I was really small, I can’t believe they ever got me into thinking that for some time. I got over that when I was pretty young because I thought it was so dumb. Because I would look at myself and I’d be like, ‘You are flawless.’”
Le, a dancer and one of TikTok’s highest-paid stars, says, “There’s not a lot of us [Asian content creators]. There’s only a very, very select few. I’ve always wanted to kind of make sure I’ve stayed in that model of art, having a good rep for us. Making sure that I’m able to have a good message and purpose that people can be like, wow.”
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Fumudoh, who has become an Instagram Live star during the pandemic, says, “My show came up at the precise time that we as a nation were really starting to address the fundamental issues with race in America. That’s in part because we were all dealing with a global pandemic and had nothing to do but be on our phones, on Instagram. I also saw that even in the pandemic that people of colour were disproportionately affected by issues. I think all of this just made a storm that created a really interesting dialogue for us to collectively have.”
D’Amelio, who has risen to fame with over 152 million TikTok followers watching her dance videos, says, “I just really want to focus this year on being myself and not feeling bad about being myself and putting myself first,” D’Amelio says. “I’m a person that likes to think of other people before myself, and I understand now that I’ve been that for everyone else, so it’s time to just focus on what I want.”
