Zoe Saldaña has an Oscar thanks to “Emilia Pérez,” but the Best Supporting Actress winner couldn’t escape awards season without defending her controversial film one last time. Backstage at the Dolby, Saldaña took questions from press and responded to a Mexican reporter who described the country as “the heart of the film.” They further described French filmmaker Jacques Audiard’s depiction of Mexico as “hurtful” — and asked Saldaña to react to the criticism.
“First of all, I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended,” Saldaña said. “That was never our intention. We spoke and came from a place of love, and I will stand by that.”
She continued, “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. They could have been Dominican. They 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 at trying to survive systemic oppression and trying to find their most authentic voices.”
Saldaña ended her remarks by inviting more feedback from Mexican audiences. “So I will stand by that, but I’m also always open to sit down with all of my Mexican brothers and sisters and with love and respect have a great conversation on how ‘Emilia’ could have been done better,” she said.
Although the song-and-dance crime epic is set in Mexico City, “Emilia Pérez” was shot primarily on a soundstage in France. Audiard’s film has been lambasted for its director’s reportedly limited location research and an overarching lack of authenticity when portraying Mexican life. Leading up to the Oscars, Best Actress nominee Karla Sofía Gascón also came under fire for hateful old social media posts.
Asked what her biggest obstacle was making it to the 2025 Oscars winners’ room, Saldaña said, “I think it was myself. Yes. There are so many external factors that can impede you moving forward if you stop moving forward. I have a hard time sometimes getting out of my own way.”
She continued, “We have an instinct and that instinct keeps us from falling or helps us put our hands in front of our face to protect us when we fall. That’s the same instinct when you’re reading a script or you’re meeting someone and you just know that you’re right for the part.”
