Steve Harvey says Hollywood is more racist than America

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 17:45:00 +0000

Comedian Steve Harvey is one of the most successful daytime talk show hosts of today. He's also a best-selling author, host of a radio show with 6 million listeners, and is now reviving the ailing game show "Family Feud." In a profile in the March 29 issue of the Hollywood Reporter, Harvey reveals that he has done all of this despite knowing that "Hollywood is still very racist."

THR explains:

"That Harvey could dramatically turn the fortunes of 'Feud' and succeed in daytime where failure is the default -- and the fact that the average African-American spends close to 47 hours a week watching live TV, more than the U.S. average (34 hours), Hispanics (28 hours) and Asians (21 hours), according to Nielsen -- has spurred industry players to say they are on the hunt for 'someone like Steve Harvey' to front their latest programming pitch. Or, in other, less coded words, 'We need a black host.' "

But, "To say Steve Harvey is succeeding because he's black is just racist," says "Family Feud" distributor Debmar-Mercury co-president Ira Bernstein. "He's an extraordinary talent. 'Feud' is not successful because Steve Harvey is black.' "

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Steve Harvey says Hollywood is more racist than America