Saldaña Calls Political Questions to Actors of Color 'Limiting'
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- Zoe Saldaña told the Locarno Film Festival that it's "incredibly limiting" and frustrating when she's the only person of color or woman on a panel and gets asked political questions instead of questions about her craft.
- Saldaña argued those inclusion-themed questions should be directed at the "80 gatekeepers" in the room rather than the lone marginalized person, saying people of color are being made to "work double" just to be present.
- Saldaña was asked minutes after winning the 2025 best supporting actress Oscar whether "Emilia Pérez" had been "really hurtful for us Mexicans"; she said she was "very, very sorry" but stood by the film as a story about "four women" facing "systemic oppression."
- Saldaña said the film's characters "could have been Russian, Dominican, Black from Detroit, from Israel, from Gaza" — "universal women" rather than specifically Mexican — while leaving the door open to conversations about how the film "could have been done better."
- Saldaña currently stars in Season 3 of Paramount+'s "Lioness" and received a Special Honorary Pardo at Locarno from festival director Giona Nazzaro.
Why it matters: Coming from a 2025 best supporting actress winner who was immediately hit with political questioning after her Oscar win for "Emilia Pérez," Saldaña's critique puts a structural complaint from actors of color on record: inclusion-themed questions routinely default to the single marginalized person in the room rather than the industry's gatekeepers. The remarks give a named, high-profile face to a pattern that other actors have flagged quietly.
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