Zendaya encouraged young people to speak out against injustice at the Teen Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday night (13.08.17).
The 20-year-old actress claimed won the Choice Summer Movie Actress surfboard at the Galen Center for her performance in ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ and she used her victory speech to speak out against ”injustice and hatred” in the US, following a recent white supremacist rally in Virginia.
Speaking directly to her young fans, Zendaya said: ”I need you to be educated I need you to listen. I need you to pay attention.
”I need you to go ahead and understand that you have a voice, and it is okay to use it when you see something bad happen.”
Zendaya said young people shouldn’t simply allow others to dictate how they feel.
The actress continued: ”You are the future leaders of the world. You are the future presidents, the future senators. You guys are the ones that are going to make this world better. You are the future. So take that very, very seriously all right?”
Meanwhile, Zendaya – who is biracial – previously revealed she doubted whether she’d be cast in the role of Michelle ‘MJ’ Jones in the ‘Spider-Man’ movie because of her background.
But the actress was thrilled the makers of the superhero film were so open to ”diversity”, which led to her securing the part.
She said earlier this month: ”A lot of time, the thought process of an actor of colour is ‘I’m going to go and give it my best shot, but they are probably not going to go with an actor of colour for this.’
”We all think it. I didn’t know they were going to switch up the characters and really cast the best people for the roles, instead of what’s most like the comic book. I think that was the coolest part for me, knowing they embraced the diversity.”
