Today (Sept. 16), British actor John Boyega stopped by “The Breakfast Club” to discuss his new projects. While promoting new films like The Woman King and Breaking, the 30-year-old also spoke with the hosts about his dating preferences.
Before the conversation transitioned to what type of woman catches Boyega’s eye, he was asked about his experience as a person of color in the Star Wars franchise. Last month, he shared in a SiriusXM radio interview that he would not be returning to the franchise based on the racist backlash he received from the film.
Show host Angela Yee compared his experience with that film to Halle Bailey’s current situation with Disney’s live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. “I just put a comment on her page. I’m so proud of her. I left her a message. I’m so proud of what I saw in that trailer,” he said. Boyega added that after he spoke out about the issue of Black actors facing backlash for lead roles in movies with historically white lead actors, he saw more and more companies join in supporting his concerns.
Next, the four began talking about dating. During the conversation, Charlamagne tha God noted he’s been married for 24 years. Boyega asked if the radio host’s wife was a Black woman. Charlamagne assured the Brit that he is indeed married to a Black woman. “I’ve heard you speak before about your Blackness and I thought you was one of the ones that was gonna sacrifice your loins to continue in this race,” Boyega joked.
The two seemed to agree that some Black men appear to be pro-Black but then date outside of their race. Yee asked Boyega if he’d ever dated a white woman, and he said “only once” when he was younger. Charlamagne then asked the Star Wars actor if he “could ever bring a ‘Storm Trooper’ home.” Boyega responded, “It’s just a preference. I like my women Black.”
Boyega explained, “Separate from a political statement or anything like that, it’s just, they fine as hell, you know? Melanin levels gotta be over 75 percent. Thickness gotta be there. Style gotta be there. We gotta laugh at the same jokes. We gotta bump to the same music. It’s just gotta be a flow.”