Unpacking the Gina Rodriguez Controversy

Article via TheCut

On Tuesday, Gina Rodriguez broke down in tears after she was asked in an interview about criticism that referred to her and some of her recent statements as anti-black. Rodriguez has faced scrutiny for a series of comments she’s made about race and gender in Hollywood — specifically, she’s been accused of pitting black and Latinx actresses against each other, and of shutting down conversations about the specific struggles black actresses face. (Rodriguez insists that she never meant to hurt anyone, and that she dedicates herself to empower all women.)

The conversation regarding Rodriguez is complicated — but here’s a breakdown of her statements, and the criticism that she received for them, which led up to the Tuesday interview.

When Black Panther began the promotional run leading up to its 2018 release in the summer of 2017, Gina Rodriguez responded to the news by tweeting, “Marvel and DC are killing it in inclusion and women, but where are the Latinos?! Asking for a friend…”

While there is no doubt that Hollywood has far to go when it comes to onscreen representation for people of color and Latinxs more specifically, Rodriguez’s remarks seemingly ignored the Latinx actors already working on Marvel and DC projects — people were quick to point out that Zoe Saldana and Tessa Thompson, both Afro-Latinx, starred in Marvel films. Others pointed to several other Latinx actors also working on DC and Marvel TV shows.

But beyond that, Rodriguez’s timing was called into question. Her remark came along as the first superhero film featuring a black leading cast made its debut, which many considered to be reductive of a moment that wasn’t about her.

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