YouTuber Lolo Spencer On “Inspiration Porn”
Actress and YouTuber Lolo Spencer is using her platform to change the perception of people with disabilities — but don't call her an inspiration.
Talking about disability lifestyles
Actress, model and YouTube lifestyle influencer Lauren “Lolo” Spencer has made her disability an asset. She’s now turning down “inspiration porn” — when the media tend to see people exclusively the basis of their disability. At 14, Spencer was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ALS, a degenerative neurological condition that weakens muscles.
“The director and the producer Alison Caldwell really wanted to make sure that they casted all of the roles authentically and they were not going to let up until they found their Tracy Holmes, which ended up being me. Within Hollywood the biggest conversation a lot of the times is casting able-bodied actors in roles that require a character to have a disability without consideration of actors with disabilities. And that's been a huge topic and a huge issue because there's so much talent, so many people who can act and do so many amazing things with disabilities. So, with regards to casting I think it's just allowing talent with disabilities to audition for any role they feel like they can audition for. Just because a character on paper may not be written with a disability, it may be interesting if that doctor came in and had disability or that secretary or the president or you know the love interest came in with a disability, and for roles that do have a character written with a disability, allow those people to audition for those roles as well. I think it would open up the mind frame of the world and society to know like we can play those roles and not only that we actually exist in the real world as secretaries, as doctors, as you know heads of their own companies, as entrepreneurs and all these different things,” states Lauren “Lolo” Spencer.
She learned her life expectancy after diagnosis would be 5 to 7 years. Today she's 32 and has decided to embrace her disability. By 19, she began using a wheelchair and confronting many challenges. Soon she took to social media to share her experiences and talk about disability lifestyles. She was also cast in a role in the 2019 movie Give me Liberty, which features other actors with disabilities.
Brut.
Talking about disability lifestyles
Actress, model and YouTube lifestyle influencer Lauren “Lolo” Spencer has made her disability an asset. She’s now turning down “inspiration porn” — when the media tend to see people exclusively the basis of their disability. At 14, Spencer was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ALS, a degenerative neurological condition that weakens muscles.
“The director and the producer Alison Caldwell really wanted to make sure that they casted all of the roles authentically and they were not going to let up until they found their Tracy Holmes, which ended up being me. Within Hollywood the biggest conversation a lot of the times is casting able-bodied actors in roles that require a character to have a disability without consideration of actors with disabilities. And that's been a huge topic and a huge issue because there's so much talent, so many people who can act and do so many amazing things with disabilities. So, with regards to casting I think it's just allowing talent with disabilities to audition for any role they feel like they can audition for. Just because a character on paper may not be written with a disability, it may be interesting if that doctor came in and had disability or that secretary or the president or you know the love interest came in with a disability, and for roles that do have a character written with a disability, allow those people to audition for those roles as well. I think it would open up the mind frame of the world and society to know like we can play those roles and not only that we actually exist in the real world as secretaries, as doctors, as you know heads of their own companies, as entrepreneurs and all these different things,” states Lauren “Lolo” Spencer.
She learned her life expectancy after diagnosis would be 5 to 7 years. Today she's 32 and has decided to embrace her disability. By 19, she began using a wheelchair and confronting many challenges. Soon she took to social media to share her experiences and talk about disability lifestyles. She was also cast in a role in the 2019 movie Give me Liberty, which features other actors with disabilities.
Brut.