Zoe Saldaña Accused Of Being “Tone-Deaf” After “Disgusting” Apology Following Oscars Win – Bored Panda
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Expect to receive your first email very soon! -14 11Link copied!ShareLink copied!ShareZoe Saldaña made a public apology to viewers, fresh off her Oscar win for Emilia Pérez.Social media users were left outraged over her apology, calling it a “dumb way to try to avoid criticism.”At the 97th Academy Awards on March 2, Saldaña picked up the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Emilia Pérez.Share iconImage credits: zoesaldanaThe actress, 46, gave an emotional speech and spoke about her upbringing while accepting the award.Calling herself a “proud child of immigrant parents,” she said, “I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last.”Shortly after accepting the award, Saldaña said she was “sorry” that many Mexicans felt “offended” by the movie.Share iconImage credits: Michael Buckner/Penske Media/Getty ImagesHer statement came after a Mexican reporter confronted her for the “really hurtful” portrayal of Mexico, calling it the “heart” of the movie.“What would you say about the heart of this movie, but also the topic [that] is really hurtful for us Mexicans?” the reporter asked.“I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended,” Saldaña responded. “That was never our intention.”Share iconImage credits: MrPopOfficialThe actress said the movie came “from a place of love,” and she doesn’t share the same opinion as the reporter.She explained that the “heart” of the movie was not Mexico. “We weren’t making a film about a country. We were making a film about four women,” she added.Describing them as “very universal women” struggling to survive “systemic oppression,” she said these people can be found anywhere in the world.Zoe Saldaña says she’s sorry Mexicans felt offended by ‘Emilia Pérez’, but she doesn’t think it’s offensive. pic.twitter.com/HG5goEgXsZ— Mr. Pop (@MrPopOfficial) March 3, 2025“These women could have been Russian, could have been Dominican,” she continued, “could have been Black from Detroit (…).”Nevertheless, the actress said she was open to sitting down for a chat with “all of [her] Mexican brothers and sisters” about how the film could have been “done better.”Many social media users weren’t happy with her remarks, with one saying, “This is not even an apology, it’s a ‘sorry you feel that way but you are wrong.’”Share iconImage credits: ABC News“Its a very tone deaf apology,” one commenter said. “The disappearance in Mexico is an actual issue down there. Its part of the movie. To downplay it by saying it could take place in Detroit, Israel, Gaza is very asinine.”“She already won her Oscar and that’s enough for her, ridiculous old woman with her whining,” read the translation of one comment.“This is such a dumb way to try to avoid criticism, I’m sorry,” said another. “Then why would you go and pick a culture you’re not familiar with if it’s not really relevant for your story? Why making it difficult for yourself to build sets, to translate dialogues and songs, to do all this work if the movie would be the same?”“I need a 5-year break from Zoe Saldaña after this awards season lmao,” quipped another.Share iconImage credits: zoesaldanaThe musical drama Emilia Pérez tells the story of a Mexican cartel kingpin (played by Karla Sofía Gascón) who undergoes a gender-affirming surgery with the help of her lawyer (played by Saldaña).French director Jacques Audiard faced immense criticism when he said he didn’t do much research on Mexico prior to making the film.“I didn’t study much,” he told NBC News with the help of a translator. “What I had to understand, I knew.”Share iconImage credits: zoesaldanaMexican actor and singer Mauricio Martínez criticised the director—whom he described as a “Frenchman who has never set foot in Mexico”—for publicly stating that he didn’t need to research for the film.When Mexicans tell you that a movie “is portraying a Mexico full of stereotypes, ignorance, lack of respect, and is profiting from one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world (mass disappearances in Mexico)… maybe.. Just maybe, believe Mexicans,” the outraged Mexican star said.The fact that the actors don’t even speak Spanish is “the least of the problematic issues,” he added.Share iconImage credits: imdbA film critic also tweeted in November that the “lack of information” makes the movie “insensitive.”“We don’t want a white French director to portray the violence we have to face every day,” she wrote. “I’m not opposed to foreign artists making films about other countries, as long as they have good research, and EMILIA PÉREZ didn’t have that.”Share iconImage credits: NetflixFollowing widespread criticism, Audiard addressed the criticism about his depiction of Mexican cartels and their victims.He said he never claimed he wanted to create a “realistic work” and would “do a documentary” if he wanted to.“But then there would be no singing and dancing [in a documentary],” he told Deadline in February.“In night markets in Mexico City, one also doesn’t sing and dance. You have to accept that is part of the magic here,” he said as he described his film as “an opera” and not “criticism of anything about Mexico.”Share iconImage credits: NetflixControversy surrounded the film since the Academy Awards announced that it was an Oscar contender.Netizens slammed the lead actress Gascón, who made history as the first transgender woman to receive a Best Actress nomination, for her controversial tweets from the past. Internet sleuths previously demanded she be stripped of her Oscar nomination.Some of the since-deleted posts went as far back as 2016, and they touched upon subjects like Islam, racism, and specifically George Floyd.Share iconImage credits: Netflix“Is it just my impression or are there more muslims in Spain?” she asked in a 2020 tweet.She claimed in the post that she was seeing “more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels” while picking up her daughter from school.“Next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic,” she added.Share iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconShare iconBy entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy. Thank you! You’ve successfully subscribed to newsletters!Anyone can write on Bored Panda. Start writing! Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! -14 11 -14 11Link copied!ShareLink copied!Share Writer, BoredPanda staff Working as a writer for Bored Panda offers an added layer of excitement. By afternoon, I’m fully immersed in the whirlwind of celebrity drama, and by evening, I’m navigating through the bustling universe of likes, shares, and clicks. This role not only allows me to delve into the fascinating world of pop culture but also lets me do what I love: weave words together and tell other people’s captivating stories to the world Writer, BoredPanda staff Working as a writer for Bored Panda offers an added layer of excitement. By afternoon, I’m fully immersed in the whirlwind of celebrity drama, and by evening, I’m navigating through the bustling universe of likes, shares, and clicks. This role not only allows me to delve into the fascinating world of pop culture but also lets me do what I love: weave words together and tell other people’s captivating stories to the world Author, BoredPanda staff Hey there! I’m a Visual Editor in News team. My responsibility is to ensure that you can read the story not just through text, but also through photos. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from celebrity drama to mind-blowing Nasa cosmic news. And let me tell you, that’s what makes this job an absolute blast! Outside of work, you can find me sweating it out in dance classes or unleashing my creativity by drawing and creating digital paintings of different characters that lives in my head. I also love spending time outdoors and play board games with my friends. Author, BoredPanda staff Hey there! I’m a Visual Editor in News team. My responsibility is to ensure that you can read the story not just through text, but also through photos. I get to work with a variety of topics ranging from celebrity drama to mind-blowing Nasa cosmic news. And let me tell you, that’s what makes this job an absolute blast! Outside of work, you can find me sweating it out in dance classes or unleashing my creativity by drawing and creating digital paintings of different characters that lives in my head. I also love spending time outdoors and play board games with my friends. It is not a documentary. People who are offended, are ” professionals of beeing offended ”Then why set it in Mexico at all? Why not invent a country?Let’s stop giving voice to stupids who are offended for anything. The movie may indeed not depict perfectly a country, a town, a community…and so what? It’s a fiction. You don’t complain that Avengers are not realistic, right? As for the “white French guy” that should not be the director, that’s disgusting: how can we hear in the XXIst century such racist statements? Yes, it’s racist to claim that one can (or can’t) shoot a movie according to their ethnic background. Segregation in art, really?!?Oh come on now. She made a movie, she won an Oscar for it. It’s not a true crime film and it was never marketed that way. Saying that only someone from a specific culture or racial group can make films about that group is insane. By that logic only white directors could make movies about white people. Do you see how racist that is? The human condition goes beyond the color of our skin and where we were born. Let’s stop limiting each other.It is not a documentary. People who are offended, are ” professionals of beeing offended ”Then why set it in Mexico at all? Why not invent a country?Let’s stop giving voice to stupids who are offended for anything. The movie may indeed not depict perfectly a country, a town, a community…and so what? It’s a fiction. You don’t complain that Avengers are not realistic, right? As for the “white French guy” that should not be the director, that’s disgusting: how can we hear in the XXIst century such racist statements? Yes, it’s racist to claim that one can (or can’t) shoot a movie according to their ethnic background. Segregation in art, really?!?Oh come on now. She made a movie, she won an Oscar for it. It’s not a true crime film and it was never marketed that way. Saying that only someone from a specific culture or racial group can make films about that group is insane. By that logic only white directors could make movies about white people. Do you see how racist that is? The human condition goes beyond the color of our skin and where we were born. Let’s stop limiting each other.We’re also on Instagram and tumblr 3comments 24 points 1comment 24 points 2comments 42 points 2comments 28 points 5comments 28 points 4comments 26 points 11comments 36 points 8comments 31 points 5comments 21 points 5comments 39 points
