Entertainment Movies 'Girls Trip' Star Kate Walsh on How Humor Can Balance Out the Seriousness of Racial Tension: 'There's a Way to Do Both' Kate Walsh stars in Girls Trip alongside Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith and Tiffany Haddish By Brianne Tracy Brianne Tracy Instagram Twitter Brianne Tracy is a staff writer on the PEOPLE music team. She has been with the brand since starting as an intern nearly six years ago, covering all things entertainment across print and digital platforms. She earned her Bachelors in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Southern California and has been seen on Good Morning America. People Editorial Guidelines Published on June 24, 2017 01:45 AM Share Tweet Pin Email As Kate Walsh puts it — a little comedy can go a long way. At a time rife with racial tension, the Girls Trip star says there’s a way to balance the seriousness of issues with humor in film — and hopes the upcoming movie accomplishes that. “I think that [comedies] can concurrently get to the very serious business of solving problems with race in our culture and also laugh about it,” Walsh, 49, tells PEOPLE Now. “I think there’s a way to do both and be sensitive and actually do the work that needs to be done in our culture.” She adds: “It’s a really interesting time in our culture but we’ve been here before and we will move forward and move forward together and be a better place.” The Will Packer-produced comedy also stars Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Regina Hall and Tiffany Haddish as the group travels to New Orleans for ESSENCE Festival. Along the way, they rekindle their sisterhood and rediscover their wild sides. “Because of our history in this country and how we’ve been labeled, I think we, as Black women, tend to be a little hard on ourselves,” Pinkett-Smith told ESSENCE about letting go and having fun in the July 2017 issue. “That feeling of always having to be on point has prevented us from being expansive in how we see ourselves and how we allow ourselves to be entertained, but I think we’re getting to a place where we’re afforded the opportunity to kind of cut loose and see all the wonderful colors of who we are.” Girls Trip hits theaters July 21.