Riz Ahmed: ‘Black Panther,’ ‘Crazy Rich Asians' Aren’t Just Wins For Blacks And Asians

Once again, Riz Ahmed has dropped some knowledge about representation.

The rapper and “Venom” star recently appeared on “The Jonathan Ross Show” and touched on the films “Black Panther” and “Crazy Rich Asians” ― two big blockbuster hits with casts made up of mostly people of color.

The two films, Ahmed said, aren’t just wins for black and Asian people.

“It’s actually a success for all of us. When a young woman gets to speak her mind, it’s a win for all of us. If ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ does really well, it’s a win for all of us. It just brings us all a bit closer together and we recognize each other within each other.”

On Wednesday, Ahmed shared the clip from the show and tweeted that “when we see a wider range of stories, we stop seeing each other as others.”

Amen.

Ahmed’s comments mirror those “Daily Show” correspondent and “Crazy Rich Asians” actor Ronny Chieng made about diversity in 2017, when he noted that by bringing authentic stories to light, “you show people that no matter how alien someone’s background might seem to you, we all have shared common human experiences.”

Ahmed has long been an outspoken advocate for greater inclusion of people of color in media. During a recent appearance on “The Daily Show,” he told host Trevor Noah that he doesn’t like talking about “diversity,” as it sounds like an “added extra.”

Instead, he said, he prefers the term “representation.”

“It’s about representation. And representation is absolutely fundamental in terms of what we expect from our culture and from our politics,” Ahmed said. “We all want to feel represented, we all want to feel seen and heard and valued.”