Reporter calls out star moments after Oscar win: ‘Hurtful’

Moments after Zoe Saldana accepted her Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, she copped a grilling in the media room.

Moments after stepping off stage with her Oscar in hand yesterday, Zoë Saldaña was fending off critics of the film that won her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Speaking with reporters backstage at the 97th Academy Awards, the Emilia Pérez star faced tough question about the controversial movie from French director, Jacques Audiard.

The Netflix film is a Spanish-language musical that follows a Mexican cartel boss (Karla Sofia Gascón) who makes the decision late in life to transition from male to female.

Its ambitious structure made it a standout during its Cannes Film Festival premiere and throughout the 2025 awards season, but has also caused waves with many in the Mexican and transgender communities who say it does a lacklustre job of representing their struggles.

Zoe Saldana after her Oscar win.

Responding to one Mexican journalist who asked how Saldaña felt about the film being “hurtful” to Mexico, the actress hit back by saying, “First of all, I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention. We came from a place of love and I will stand by that.”

The Avatar and Guardians of The Galaxy actress continued, saying that the intent of the film was never to be about one particular geographical reason, but rather the characters at the centre of the film. The movie — which also stars Selena Gomez and Édgar Ramírez — also follows the lives and issues faced by Saldaña’s character and Gomez’s character, who both play pivotal roles in the life of the titular character.

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In response to the backlash, Saldaña — who became the first person of Dominican descent to win an Academy Award with her win during Hollywood’s biggest night — told the room of reporters that she is proud to stand by the film but that there are always lessons to be learned.

“I will say that I don’t share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie is 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, could have been Dominican, could be Black from Detroit, could have been from Israel, could have been from Gaza,” Saldaña said.

All smiles on her way into the Oscars after-party. Picture: Gonzalo Marroquin/Getty

Saldana won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in Emilia Perez. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty

She continued, “And these women are still very universal. Women that are struggling every day and trying to survive systemic oppression and trying to find their most authentic voices,” 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, and with love and respect, have a great conversation on how Emilia could have been done better. No problem.”

Despite racking up 13 nominations across the board, the foreign film went home with just two wins, one for Saldaña for Best Supporting Actress and another for Best Original Song. It was a tepid end to an Oscar campaign riddled with controversy, especially in recent weeks with the emergence of old tweets from Gascón that caused a firestorm for Netflix and the film.

Overall, the night’s biggest winner, by far, was Sean Baker’s sex-worker Cinderella story, Anora, which took the trophy for Best Picture, Best Director (Baker), Best Lead Actress (Mikey Madison), Best Original Screenplay (Baker), and Best Editing.

This story originally appeared on Decider and is republished here with permission.

Originally published as Reporter calls out star moments after Oscar win: ‘Hurtful’