Zoe Saldaña is growing frustrated with political questions, mainly because she doesn’t find them being asked in equal measure across the industry. The Oscar winner said during a conversation at the Locarno Film Festival that she often participates in Q&As because she is eager to talk about the craft of acting. However, Saldaña keeps finding herself fielding political questions instead.
“One thing that’s incredibly limiting, and frustrating, is when I’m the only person of color or the only woman on stage, and that happens quite a lot for women and for people of color. And I wait for my turn to be asked a question about my craft, and I’m asked the political question,” Saldaña said, giving the following example: “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 marginalized community,” Saldaña noted. “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 color work double to be in a room.”
Saldaña did not give any specific examples of press tours where she’s been inundated with political questions when compared to her co-stars and crew, although she was notably asked about “Emilia Perez” offending Mexicans just minutes after she won the best supporting actress Oscar in 2025.
