Angela Bassett says she turned down a lead role in Monster's Ball because she believed the character's affair in the film was demeaning and stereotypical.
"It's about character, darling," she said in the current issue of Newsweek.
"I wasn't going to be a prostitute on film. I couldn't do that because it's such a stereotype about black women and sexuality."
The actress said she didn't mean to criticize Halle Berry, who won an Oscar for her Monster's Ball role as a troubled waitress.
Bassett was one of several actresses who passed on the role.
"It's about putting something out there you can be proud of 10 years later," she said. "I mean, Meryl Streep won Oscars without all that." AP