Jason George on disability inclusion in Hollywood

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,

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 starting to move now,

it's actually starting to roll, and people are

having that conversation cuz uh cuz

people I think what's 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 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 has been uh I think

it's not been nearly as hard a

conversation as it would have been

10 15 years ago people suddenly go 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 that

the simple fact that it's being pointed

out to them in uh sometimes in the you

know shaming way but sometimes in the

this actually will help improve your

bottom line because people always want

to see themselves on camera and it

doesn't always need to be a point in

fact sometimes it's most powerful when

you know you see a person on camera with

a disability and it's not the point of

the story uh that's happening more and

more it's not happening enough let's be

clear but it's happening more uh cuz 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 got

to be equality across the board it can't

be just for equality for people that

look like me or my gender or think like

me or love like me it's got to be

equality for everybody either you fight

for every body or you're really just

fighting for yourself and people like

you so I think that's the message that's

got to get out there more and more and

that with that simple and I think it's

out there in that little simple note of

don't forget about these PKS who are by

the way the biggest population of people

that are forgotten in the country

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