In a recent interview with The Huffington Post, John Ridley, the screenwriter behind 12 Years a Slave, and the new ABC series, American Crime explains why he won’t call himself a feminist, and it’s not for the reasons you may think.

“It’s not like I’m out on a daily basis advocating. I don’t want to adopt some kind of a mantle when the reality is, on a daily basis, I’m not an advocate and I’m not doing the things people do where they put their lives, or themselves, or their livelihoods at risk, because there are people who are doing that,” says Ridley.

Ridley says that he does believe in gender equality, but to him, being labeled as a “feminist” would belittle those who he believes are the most deserving of the title. “I […] don’t want to take the spotlight from people who are out there fighting for issues like women’s rights, marriage equality or Black Lives Matter”, he states.

Do you agree with his sentiments? Can you see where John Ridley is coming from? Sound off in the comments, Blavity wants to hear from you!