Janet Jackson’s Video 24 Foreplay Is A Tribute To The Pioneer Black Actress Dorothy Dandridge.

NPR Discussion About Dorothy Dandridge.

I love this Janet Jackson video because it is a    tribute to the pioneer black actress  Dorothy Dandridge.

Janet respects Dorothy Dandridge for opening doors for black women in Hollywood.

Dorothy Dandridge was an incredible woman, she was the first black woman ever nominated for a best actress Oscar in the year 1955! Dorothy was nominated for her performance in the film “Carmen Jones.”  Carmen Jones made Dorothy an international star but Hollywood did not know what to do with her. In the 1950s, America was still sexually repressed. The reason Dorothy Dandridge did not become a huge star in America was due to the fact America was fearful that white men were sexually attracted to her.

Dorothy was also an amazing singer she sang in London, Paris, recorded hit albums, and she had sold out tours.

The quandary for Dorothy Dandridge was, there were anxieties about miscegenation in America during the 1950s. It is well-known that famous white male actors chased Dorothy Dandridge because they were sexually attracted to her. Of course, Dorothy’s interracial affair with the white male director Otto Preminger was a turning point in her life and career. Preminger met Dandridge when he directed the 1954 film “Carmen Jones.”  However, Preminger refused to divorce his wife and marry Dorothy due to America’s anxieties about interracial relationships. Dorothy married twice and both her marriages ended in divorce.

Unfortunately, Dorothy became depressed about the lack of quality film roles available for a black actress. Dorothy also had a mentally challenged daughter and she blamed herself for her daughter’s disability.

Dorothy died very young she was only 42 when she passed away in Los Angeles due to a drug overdose. Dorothy Dandridge will never be forgotten because she was a trailblazer, she was a black woman who made a difference.

Dorothy Dandridge she was the first black female sex symbol and movie star. Dandridge had the beauty, intelligence, acting talent, singing ability,  but she was unable to attain the same level of success as her breakthrough role in  “Carmen Jones.”

Janet Jackson looks just like Dorothy Dandridge! I think Janet should make a  movie  about Dorothy Dandridge’s controversial life.