Interviews with celebrities have over the years given us a lot of iconic moments, such as Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford laughing it up with Alison Hammond. They have also given us uncomfortable moments, such as Tom Cruise telling Peter Overton to “put his manners back in.” A similar awkward moment happened during a recent interview with actors Andrew Garfield, Julia Roberts, and Ayo Edebiri, when the reporter asked a rather weird question and demanded it be answered by only two of the actors.
While promoting their upcoming film After The Hunt, the trio were talking to Italian news publications ArtsLife, and what started as a regular interaction soon turned uncomfortable. The reporter said, “This is a question for Andrew and Julia: what have we lost in this politically correct era? And what should we expect from Hollywood after the Me Too movement and the Black Lives Matter movement?” The phrase before the question made Ayo look a bit confused, but as the question began, one could see Andrew raise his eyebrows and join the awkward train.
Julia, who was already feeling a bit guilty for answering all the questions and talking too much, said to the reporter, “Could you please repeat that? We can’t really see who you are talking to with your sunglasses on.” The reporter repeated the question and said that it was only meant for Julia and Andrew. Ayo, being the only Black actor out of the three, decided to intervene and said, “Well, I know that the question is not for me, and I don’t know if it’s purposeful that it’s not for me, but I just don’t think these movements are done; it’s not done at all. Maybe the hashtags aren’t being used as much as before, but I do think that there is work being done by activists and other people every day, and that work is still very much active, and it not finished at all.
All three actors were visibly confused. (Photo: YouTube/ArtsLife)
Andrew, who had sort of laughed and turned towards his female co-stars when the question was originally asked, also weighed in and said, “These movements are still alive; maybe they are not as ‘covered’ or magnified as much as before. They aren’t on a halt.” The question and its phrasing that confused the actors also received a lot of flak online. Fans supported Ayo for holding her ground and answering the question with grace even after being excluded. One user on X wrote, “The beautiful fortitude it takes for Ayo Edebiri here to afford an undeserving interviewer grace while still delivering an unyielding response will be understood by countless Black and brown women as the microaggressions they endure way too often.”
