Bestselling author James Patterson said there is now discrimination against white male writers in Hollywood, particularly older ones, calling it “another form of racism.”

Sunday Times interviewer Sarah Baxter noted that it was “astounding to think” that Patterson’s “success as a young white author was founded on the character of a black detective,” referring to Alex Cross.

“I just wanted to create a character who happened to be black,” the author responded. “I would not have tried to write a serious saga about a black family. It’s different in a detective story because plot is so important.”

“I get it. How could we run through that period, especially in Hollywood, where there was all this talent and nobody got hired?” Patterson added, seemingly referring to minority actors and writers.

“Today, though, he worries that it is hard for white men to get writing gigs in film, theatre, TV or publishing,” Baxter said.

Patterson noted that the problem is “just another form of racism.”

“What’s that all about?” he asked. “Can you get a job? Yes. Is it harder? Yes. It’s even harder for older writers. You don’t meet many 52-year-old white males.”

In the same interview, Patterson said he dislikes actors and public figures “spouting off ignorantly about subjects they have gleaned off the internet,” Baxter noted. Patterson added that he’s still “almost always on the side of free speech,” though.

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