Viola Davies wants women to understand they are "worth it" even when they are "complicated".
The 52-year-old actress recalled a story in which she told her six-year-old daughter Genesis – who was five at the time – that she was "complicated" and the tot thought it was an insult, which has now prompted the star to try and encourage women to take the adjective in a positive light.
Speaking at the Women in Film Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party in Beverly Hills, California, on Friday (02.03.18), Viola said: "You know I was telling a story to the women at my table … I told my five-year-old daughter at the time you know I said, ‘Genesis you’re very complicated.’ And she said, ‘Mommy, take that back, take that back.’
"I said, ‘Genesis, that’s a compliment. That means you’re multifaceted, that there’s a lot of different things in you.’ [But] she said, ‘Mommy, you’re trying to tell me that I’m confusing.’"
Viola – who has Genesis with her husband Julius Tennon – admitted that being a woman can sometimes feel confusing, but added that it is still important for women to value themselves.
She added: "We’re still worth it. With all of our imperfections, with all of our complexities and confusion, we’re still worth it. This is a year of owning who we are. You either own your story and you share it. Or you stand outside of it always hustling for your worth.
"We are all worth it. That is what we need to come into [a] room with. That’s what we need to go into 2018 and 2019 with. That the privilege of a lifetime is being exactly who we are."
The ‘How To Get Away With Murder’ star’s comments come after she recently revealed she was the victim of sexual assault when she was just a child.
She said: "Not only do I have my own story, I have my own stories. I am telling you, I have had men touch me in inappropriate ways throughout my childhood.
"I have had men follow me on any given day, and I am saying during the day, at one o’clock in the afternoon, and expose themselves to me. "
Viola Davis: Women are ‘worth it’
