Hollywood actress Octavia Spencer said Thursday that Los Angeles is more racist than her native Montgomery, Alabama.
Spencer joined “WTF with Marc Maron” on Thursday, saying she expected Los Angeles to be a “free and liberal thinking place.” Instead, she quickly realized it had far “more racism” than Montgomery.
Spencer recounted growing up in Montgomery and said while the history is “intense” it was still a good place to grow up.
“It’s a beautiful place and beautiful people. You know, I love being from there,” Maron said. “But it’s like, it’s heavy, man. Right?” (RELATED: LA City Council Meeting Implodes After Alleged Racism Scandal Draws Angry Crowd)
“I think everywhere is heavy. Everywhere has its history. You know what I mean? It’s – I think everywhere has problems,” Spencer said. “You can’t deny that Southern history is intense.”
“What’s beautiful for me is, that stuff preceded me. You know, I was a child of the ’70’s … you know, as you grow older and the things that you can remember. That wasn’t a part of my history. I learned about it. It’s not everything — anything that I experienced.”
Spencer also said racism affected her way more in Los Angeles than it did growing up in Alabama.
“My mother definitely, you know, taught us about the world and the realities, the harsh realities of the world and history,” Spencer said. “But growing up in Alabama, I’m going to be honest, I felt more racism when I first moved here than I ever, ever had in Alabama.”
BEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA – DECEMBER 11: Octavia Spencer speaks during the Public Counsel’s Annual William O. Douglas Award Dinner Celebrating Viola Davis at The Beverly Hilton on December 11, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Robin L Marshall/Getty Images)
Spencer said she thought California would be “free and liberal thinking,” but instead said she felt like Julia Roberts in the “Pretty Woman” scene when Roberts entered a high end store and received judgment from the clerks.
“I remember going into a shop and being followed, like, at first, I didn’t even – I was just like so excited, like just walking around, and then I realized that I was being followed.”
“It was kind of strange in that way,” she continued.