12 August 2026
Zoe Saldaña is tired of political questions only being asked to actors of colour and women.
Zoe Saldaña is sick of answering political questions
The 48-year-old star has hit out at the “incredibly limited and frustrating” practice of people calling on those in marginalised groups to offer answers for problems of inclusivity in Hollywood.
Speaking at the Locarno Film Festival, she said: “One thing that’s incredibly limiting, and frustrating, is when I’m the only person of colour or the only woman on stage, and that happens quite a lot for women and for people of colour.
“And I wait for my turn to be asked a question about my craft, and I’m asked the political question, ‘What do you think we need to do to make films more inclusive?’
“I’m sorry, you don’t ask the only person that comes from the marginalised community.
“You ask the other 80 of them that are part of the gatekeepers, and you ask them if they know the answer because I think that we’re making people of colour work double to be in a room.”
Zoe didn’t go into detail on any specific examples of press tours where she was asked more political questions than her co-stars.
However, moments after winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 2025, a journalist asked her about the movie Emilia Perez being “really hurtful for us Mexicans”.
She replied at the time: “First of all, I’m very, very sorry that many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention. We spoke from a place of love.
“I don’t share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We were making a film about friendship. We were making a film about four women.
“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.
“And these women are still very universal women that are struggling every day, but trying to survive systemic oppression and trying to find the most authentic voices.”
Despite offering her own stance, Zoe insisted she was open to a conversation with her “Mexican brothers and sisters”.
She added: “So I will stand by that, 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 Pérez could have been done better. I welcome it.”
