Over the weekend, Beautycon graced New York City for a star-studded festival full of beauty enthusiasts ready to take notes on the hottest trends in health and beauty and have a real discussion on beauty standards. Zendaya was among the celebrities present, and the 21-year-old actress and singer used the Beautycon stage as an opportunity to call out colorism in Hollywood.

Zendaya sat down with Uber's Chief Brand Officer Bozoma Saint John.

"As a black woman, as a light-skinned black woman, that's important that I say listen,” Zendaya said. “I'm using my privilege and my platform to show you how much beauty there is in the African-American community.”

"I am Hollywood's acceptable version of a black girl and that has to change," the "Greatest  Showman" star continued. "We're vastly too beautiful and too interesting for me to be the only representation of that."

Zendaya was met with cheers from the crowd as Saint John told sis she was "preachin'."

The convention wasn't Zendaya’s first time speaking on issues of colorism.

In her cover story for Cosmopolitan's June 2016 issue, a then-19-year-old Zendaya told the publication she feels an obligation to represent for all shades of the melanin spectrum.

I'm almost ready…I swear

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“I feel a responsibility to be a voice for the beautiful shades my people come in. Unfortunately, I have a bit of a privilege compared to my darker sisters and brothers… Can I honestly say that I’ve had to face the same racism and struggles as a woman with darker skin?” she said. "No, I cannot. I have not walked in her shoes and that is unfair of me to say."

“But I’m completely behind that woman. I want to be a part of the movement and growth,” she continued. “And if I get put in a position because of the color of my skin where people will listen to me, then I should use that privilege the right way.”

The Oakland native is never one to shy away from being a proud black woman. Activism seems to be in her DNA.
"There is definitely ‘hood’ in me, and it will never leave. It’s part of who I am, as it is part of my family. I was born and raised in Oakland, all my family is from there … and they’re not from the Oakland Hills, we are from the hoods of Oakland," she mentioned at the festival. "It’s something that I’m proud of, and I’m lucky to be where I’m from. My aunties held Black Panther party meetings in the downstairs basement of our house that I grew up in."
Damn, we love you. 
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