Ayo Edebiri spun a tense interview moment into a compelling answer while doing festival press for “After the Hunt.”
The scene occurred during a Venice International Film Festival interview featuring Edebiri, Andrew Garfield and Julia Roberts that ArtsLife TV uploaded Saturday. In the clip, interviewer Federica Polidoro poses a question about the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements — both integral to the college campus-set drama “After the Hunt,” which premiered at Venice.
Much to the trio’s surprise, however, they weren’t all included in the question.
“In your opinion, what we lost during the politically correct era, and what we have to expect in Hollywood after the #MeToo movement and the Black Lives Matter are done?” Polidoro asked. “The two of you, Andrew and Julia.”
“Um, well, OK,” Edebiri said.
You can watch the interview below:
The question immediately caught the three movie stars off guard for multiple reasons. Garfield immediately turned to his female co-leads with a smile, deferring to them before learning the question was directed at him. All three appeared shocked when Edebiri (the only one able to speak to both questions from the perspective of a Black woman) was not invited to speak.
Roberts quickly shut the scene down.
“Can you repeat that?” she asked, leaning forward. “With your sunglasses on, I can’t tell which of us you’re talking to.” Polidoro again emphasized that the question was for “Julia and Andrew.”
“I know that that’s not for me, and I don’t know if it’s purposeful that it’s not for me, but I just am curious. I don’t think it’s done,” Edebiri said in response, interjecting. “I think maybe hashtags might not be used as much, or, but I do think that there’s work being done by activists, by people every day, that’s beautiful, important work. That’s not finished. That’s really, really, really active for a reason: because this world is really charged, and that work isn’t finished at all.”
The scene quickly went viral over the weekend, with people online calling out the interviewer’s exclusion of Edebiri and general phrasing of the question.
“Asking 2 white actors about BLM and #MeToo (both founded by Black women) while deliberately excluding the Black woman sitting right beside them is the definition of petty racism,” one user said on X. “Shoutout to Ayo Edebiri for shutting it down with power and grace. And for the record, BLM is alive, well, and not going anywhere. 😏”
You can view more posts responding to the moment below.
On Sunday, Polidoro went on social media to respond to the viral controversy. The post did not contain an apology.
“Following an interview, I have been subjected to personal insults and attacks because of a question that, for some reason, was not well received by some members of the public,” she started. “I find it striking that those who unjustly accuse me of racism and consider themselves custodians of justice find acceptable violent language, personal attacks and cyberbullying.”
“To date, I am not aware of any protocol that dictates the order in which questions must be asked in an interview,” Polidoro said. “Censoring or delegitimizing questions considered ‘uncomfortable’ does not fall within the practice of democracy. Only the Journalists’ Association is authorized to evaluate the work of professionals in the field, not social media tribunals.”
