My experience when it comes to disability
being included in the conversation about inclusivity
has been that, in general, it hasn't been.
It's only recently that it's really started
to move the needle.
I mean, y'all,
I do a lotta work with SAG-AFTRA,
and it's around issues of diversity and inclusivity,
and I gotta say that the performance of disability committee
has done phenomenal work in moving the needle
and getting this conversation happening in the industry.
It's amazing how much energy it takes
to get that that big old boulder rolling just an inch,
and they've done that, and it's startin' to move now,
it's actually startin' to roll,
and people are havin' that conversation.
I think what I'm most excited about right now
is that so many people are talking about equality and inclusivity,
and they are trying to make sure
that nobody gets left out.
And so when you point out to somebody
that they're leaving out 20% of the population,
they pay attention, they wake up.
And so that to me,
I think it's not been nearly as hard a conversation
as it would have been 10, 15 years ago.
People suddenly go, "(gasping) Oh, you're right.
You're right, I haven't been thinking about that,
I haven't been including performers with disabilities
in my projects,
I haven't been hiring writers with disabilities,
I haven't been looking for producing...
You know, so the simple fact that it's being pointed out to them
sometimes in the you know shaming way
but sometimes in the this actually will help
improve your bottom line
because people always wanna see themselves on camera.
And it doesn't always need to be the point,
in fact, sometimes it's most powerful
when you see a person on camera with a disability
and it's not the point of the story.
That's happening more and more.
It's not happening enough, let's be clear,
but it's happening more.
'Cause you know, at the end of the day,
I think people are starting to realize
that if you say you stand for equality,
it's gotta be equality across the board.
It can't be just for equality for people that look like me,
or are my gender, or think like me, or love like me,
it's got to be equality for everybody.
Either you fight for everybody,
or you're really just fighting for yourself and people like you.
So I think that's the message
that's gotta get out there more and more.
And I think it's out there in that little simple note
of don't forget about these folks
who are, by the way, the biggest population of people
that are forgotten in the country.
(gentle rhythmic music)