Entertainment

America Ferrera Urges Women To Not ‘See The Worst In Each Other’

Published on: February 9, 2017 at 4:34 AM
By Stacey Cole

America Ferrera, the American actress, is a well-known celebrity who became famous due to her role in movies like The Sisterhood of Travelling Pants , The Dry Land , and Our Family Wedding . Moreover, she has been prominently featured in the voice cast of the How to Train Your Dragon animated film series.

Yet it was America Ferrera’s role as Betty Suarez in ABC’s comedy television series Ugly Betty that turned the actress into a household name. Ferrera has won numerous awards including Golden Globes, Emmys, and Screen Actor Guild Awards. Winning such coveted awards and gaining popularity in the United States has been an enormous achievement for America Ferrera, especially considering her humble beginnings.

America Ferrera’s parents migrated from Honduras to the United States to seek better prospects, and after her parent’s divorce, America was raised by her mother who managed the housekeeping staff at the Hilton Hotels. The young America Ferrera began to dabble in acting when she participated in her school’s productions of Hamlet , Oliver! , and Romeo and Juliet , and went on to get formal training when she participated in plays that were staged in community theater in Los Angeles. Later, America Ferrera had a firm grounding in her dream career after she earned a scholarship while pursuing theater and international relations at the University of Southern California.

America Ferrera’s achievements have made her proud of her heritage and her upbringing. So the Real Women Have Curves actress was understandably upset when Donald Trump criticized the Hispanic community by attacking Mexican immigrants through his political rhetoric, and particularly his ongoing claim that he intends to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border in an attempt to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

Even though his attacks were specifically targeted towards illegal immigrants, Trump offended many Hollywood celebrities by making hurtful generalized statements against the Latino community. Throughout last year’s election campaign, America Ferrera enthusiastically supported Hillary Clinton because she was not only impressed by the Democratic politician’s liberal view but also her charismatic personality, regarding her as a true symbol of female empowerment.

Like many celebrities, America Ferrera believed that Trump would not win the election due to the controversies surrounding his campaign. The election results, therefore, came as a huge shock to the Hispanic actress, and according to the Huffington Post , Ferrera posted a message on social media along with her tearful photo to express her grief at Hillary Clinton’s defeat.

“The grief comes in waves. As if someone I loved died. I’ve never felt this brand of sadness before. If you cried all day ? you are not alone. We deserve to mourn. Patiently waiting for the sadness to transform into something more useful.”

It didn’t take long for the actress’s sadness to indeed “transform into something more useful,” as America Ferrera took to the stage to address women across the nation on the day after President Trump’s inauguration, calling for resistance and encouraging America to stay united. Another Huffington Post article reported that Ferrera joined Michael Moore, Janet Mock, Gloria Steinem, and other high-profile activists and celebrities to encourage Americans to not “see the worst in each other.”

“Mr. Trump, we refuse. We reject the demonization of our Muslim brothers and sisters. We condemn the systemic murder and incarceration of our black brothers and sisters. We will not ask our LGBT families to go backwards. We will not go from being a nation of immigrants to a nation of ignorance. We won’t build walls and we won’t see the worst in each other.”

Like Hillary Clinton, America Ferrera is a strong woman who knows how to deal with the negativity in life. The actress has admitted that she has suffered from negative thoughts, despite winning several awards for her acting. According to Time magazine, her inner voices turned out to be so negative and demoralizing that she decided to see a therapist to rebuild her confidence.

America Ferrera also decided to participate in and complete a triathlon because she believed that she would be able to shut off the negativity that had affected her thought process. The actress trained hard for the challenge and went on to complete the grueling triathlon challenge. According to the New York Times , America Ferrera spoke about how she managed to complete the difficult challenge .

“With every step, stroke and pedal, I turned ‘No, I can’t’ into ‘Yes, I can,’ ‘I’m limited’ into ‘Look what I’m capable of,’ and ‘I’m weak’ into ‘I am whole, healthy and strong.’”

[Featured Image by Danny Moloshok/AP Images]

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