Was this movie guilty of colorism towards black women?

There's a 50/50 chance that Lisa would be lighter than Lisa (I know that it's 50/50 in my family as it is in every black family with an even number of people in it). In any case, I think Allison Dean was then and still is gorgeous:

https://cdn.idolbirthdays.net/medias/profile/201704/allison-dean.jpg

In addition, the ultimate female, the one hand chosen for Akeem, happened to be darker than Lisa. I present the gorgeous Vanessa Bell:

https://pmcdeadline2.files.wordpress.com/2018/09/vanessa-bell-calloway.jpg?w=630&h=383&crop=1

Maybe?

It's impossible to tell.

I think with this movie, it's healthier to just focus on the fact that it's hilarious and insightful, and not worry about racism - especially in a mostly-black cast film from the late '80s.

I thought they were both hot and I liked Patrice better of the two.

I thought so too....like the darker women get the left overs....the crumbs from the lighter skinned women

What a load of bullshit. It's a silly comedy. It's not guilty of anything.

Vanessa Bell Calloway believes her skin tone affected ‘Coming to America’ casting

https://www.lipstickalley.com/threads/vanessa-bell-calloway-believes-her-skin-tone-affected-%E2%80%98coming-to-america%E2%80%99-casting.4403955/

Calloway — who played the role of Imani Izzi in 1988’s “Coming to America,” the beautiful woman originally meant to marry Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem — says she originally auditioned for the lead female role of Lisa, played by Shari Headley, and believes her complexion played a role in not getting the part.

“When you have white people hiring black people in movies, sometimes a certain look is wanted,” Calloway, 67, tells Page Six. Calloway got the impression that the film’s team “wanted a light-skinned girl. I just wasn’t light enough, even though Eddie had the final say on who played Lisa.”

She continued, “That’s something that we’ve always dealt with within our race: A lot of men were indoctrinated by having a white woman or light-skinned woman on their arm.”

“The real deal is, when you’re in a situation like that, you wanna be a part of an Eddie Murphy movie. I wasn’t gonna say no! I would’ve loved to have had the lead part, but I was very happy to be in the movie. I can’t lie about that. I said, ‘I’ll make the best out of this and I’ll be the best.’ It was a smaller role but it was a glamorous part to play. And Shari did a great job.”

Now y'all are complaining about tone? Get a life! It is a movie!