Zoe Saldaña weighed in on the “Emilia Perez” controversy on Hollywood’s biggest night.
Shortly after accepting the best supporting actress Oscar for her work in the film, Saldaña was whisked away to the Oscars press room to field a few questions.
Backstage, Mexican journalist Cristina Ibañez asked Saldaña to address criticism of “Emilia Pérez” from Mexican audiences.
Much has been said about the movie, Ibañez said, but “less has been said about Mexico, which is the heart of it.”
“So what would you say about the heart of this movie, but also about the topic, which (has been) really hurtful for us Mexicans?” Ibañez asked the actor.
Saldaña started by apologizing for any pain the film has caused viewers.
“First of all, I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention. We spoke and we came from a place of love and I will stand by that,” she said.
The actor went on to share her own views on the matter — which is that the movie, while set in Mexico, was not about Mexico.
“I don’t share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We weren’t making a film about a country. We were making a film about four women. And these women could have been Russian, could have been Dominican, could have been Black from Detroit, could have been from Israel, could have been from Gaza,” she noted. “And these women are still very universal women that are struggling every day, trying to survive systemic oppression and trying to find their most authentic voices. So I will stand by that.”
Saldaña ended her statement by welcoming further discussion on the topic.
“But I’m also always open to sit down with all of my Mexican brothers and sisters, with love and respect, (to have) a great conversation on how ‘Emilia’ could have been done better. I have no problem. I welcome it,” she said.
Zoe Saldaña as Rita in “Emilia Pérez.”
Since its release in November 2024, “Emilia Perez” has won several awards at awards shows like the Golden Globes, Critics Choice Awards, SAG Awards and BAFTAs.
The movie also ignited controversy on multiple fronts, including on matters of Mexican representation.
“Emilia Perez” is set in Mexico, but most of the lead actors aren’t from Mexico. Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays Emilia, is from Spain; Saldaña is from the U.S. and has Dominican and Puerto Rican ancestry; and Selena Gomez is from the U.S. with Mexican and Italian heritage.
Only supporting cast member Adriana Paz, who plays Emilia’s lover, Epifanía, is from Mexico. Paz, calling director Audiard a “genius,” defended the movie in an interview with IndieWire.
“I’ve heard people saying it’s offensive to Mexico. I really want to know why, because I didn’t feel that way. And I have questioned some people that I trust, not just as artists but as people, and they don’t feel that way, so I am trying to understand,” Paz said.
Director Audiard told a reporter he “didn’t study much” about Mexico to make the film, per a translation done by NBC News.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the majority of filming took place on a sound stage in Paris, with five days of exterior shots in Mexico.
The movie also started debate about the depiction of its main character. Gascón plays a cartel leader who undergoes gender reassignment surgery to live freely as Emilia Pérez, her true identity.
Some viewers argued that “Emilia Perez” misrepresents trans people. LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD described the film as a “step backward for trans representation,” adding that it “recycles the trans stereotypes, tropes, and clichés of the not-so-distant past.”
Gascón defended her “Emilia Pérez” character against accusations that the depiction was transphobic.
“There are some that say, ‘I want to see LGBTQ or trans characters outdoing what people do in real life,’ but we do bad things too … I don’t understand the criticism about the representation of portraying Emilia Pérez this way,” she told Vanity Fair in January. “The reality is that the trans experience is not the same for everybody — my trans experience is different from somebody else’s.”
“If you don’t like it, go and make your own movie,” Gascón also said. “Go create the representation you want to see for your community.”
Then, weeks before the Oscars, Gascón herself was the target of backlash when tweets she posted in 2020 resurfaced containing racist and Islamophobic sentiments. Gascón later issued an apology.
In January 2025, Saldaña responded to her cast mate’s controversy.
“I’m still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days. It makes me really sad because I don’t support and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group,” she said during a Q&A session for the film, per The Hollywood Reporter.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
