Actress Ayo Edebiri is garnering applause for her response after an interviewer tried to shut her out of a question about the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements in a recent interview.
Edebiri and co-stars Andrew Garfield and Julia Roberts were promoting their film After the Hunt on Italy’s ArtsLife TV when reporter journalist Federica Polidoro asked for their thoughts on what was “lost during the politically correct era” and how Hollywood might evolve now that the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements are “done.”
All three appeared stunned. Roberts asked Polidoro to repeat the question, and clarify who she was asking.
After Polidoro repeated the question — and clarified it was only intended for Garfield and Roberts — Edebiri, who is Black, spoke up.
The movements aren’t “done at all,” she said.
“I think maybe hashtags might not be used as much,” Edebiri said. “But I do think that there’s work being done by activists, by people everyday that’s beautiful, important work, that’s not finished, that’s really, really, really active, for a reason, because this world is really charged.”
Roberts and Garfield agreed that both movements are still active.
The film, directed by Italy’s Luca Guadagnino, follows a Yale professor, played by Roberts, whose life is upended after her colleague and friend is accused by one of her students of sexual assault.
The interview garnered swift reaction online, with commenters calling the question — and Edebiri’s exclusion — racist and misogynistic.
It was “highly unprofessional and blatantly racist,” said TikToker Chae’ Jones in one post, which garnered more than 1.5 million views.
Others praised Roberts and Garfield for deferring to Edebiri, noting that Garfield looked to them for their reactions first, and that Roberts gave the journalist the opportunity to rephrase her question.
“They used their collective media training in perfect synchronicity,” one X user said.
after being deliberately excluded, ayo edebiri answering a question about the political state of the hashtag “metoo” and “black lives matter” movement with poise and grace for ‘after the hunt’ press in venice <a href=”https://t.co/svhW7AF06B”>pic.twitter.com/svhW7AF06B</a>
—@writtenbyayo
Polidoro on Tuesday defended the asking of “uncomfortable” questions, while decrying her critics for focusing on how she “should have phrased the question” instead of “the thoughtful responses” of the three actors.
“In my view, the real racists are those who see racism everywhere and seek to muzzle journalism,” she added.
Her response only fuelled the criticism, however, with many pointing out that her statement does not address why Edebiri had initially been excluded from the question, or speak to criticism around that choice.
