Kristin Davis revealed that she is terrified for her black daughter, Gemma Rose Davis, after Donald Trump won this year’s presidential election. The 51-year-old actress — who adopted Gemma, now 5, on her own in 2011 — opened up about her feelings during an interview with WNYC’s Rebecca Carroll.
“I am white. I have lived in white privilege. I thought I knew before adopting my daughter that I was in white privilege, that I understood what that meant. But until you actually have a child, which is like your heart being outside you, and that heart happens to be in a brown body, and you have people who are actively working against your child, it’s hard. It fills me with terror,” Davis explained during a “How I Got Over” conversation in which she explained how she did not understand white privilege until she adopted Gemma.
The Sex and the City alum implied that she is fearful for her little girl because of the racist rhetoric Trump, 70, used during his controversial and divisive campaign. His victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has energized many alt-right groups, white supremacists and neo-Nazi supporters across the country. (During a meeting with journalists from The New York Times on Tuesday, November 22, the ex–Celebrity Apprentice host condemned Richard Spencer’s National Policy Institute, which openly supports white nationalist policies.)
“I’m on the intense learning curve because I have to protect my child. I might have had the intellectual learning curve that we all hope and wish we have, but it’s different than the actual life that you’re on the line for. I have to protect my daughter at all costs,” Davis continued. “My initial thoughts on Wednesday morning was that I wanted to move to the woods and learn to shoot a gun. It makes no sense. I’m fully aware. I’m 100 percent aware that it literally makes no sense but … the fear of what is happening and how am I going to make sure that no one hurts my child, even in a subtle way, which was already a fear I had, honestly, but it just became so, so heightened.”
The Emmy-nominated star went on to say that her upbringing in South Carolina exposed her to racism on a regular basis — a reason she is still unwilling to fully acknowledge Trump’s upcoming presidency.
“Right now I want to be in the bubble. I don’t want to talk to any Trump people,” she said. “I grew up with some really ugly racism in front of me. Not in my family. We were at the university where things were cool, but around us was really, really not cool. And it was intensely illuminating and as a young person really shocking. And to think that my daughter is now going through a different version of this is pretty stunning and shocking.”
During her chat with Carroll, Davis said that she makes a concerted effort to strengthen Gemma’s self-esteem by constantly showering her with positive praise.
“I always tell her … that her curls are beautiful, your black skin is beautiful. You’re beautiful. You’re powerful. You’re a goddess,” she explained. “Serena [Williams] is a household fixture at our house. And like Serena was on the cover of The New York Times, and that thing sat there for six months. I work really hard at the representation part in terms of beauty, magazines.”
