Zoe Saldaña made history last night as the first American of Dominican descent to win an Oscar. Saldaña won the Academy Award for Best Actress In A Supporting Role for Emilia Pérez. Yet, her win did not overshadow the larger story of Mexico’s representation, which has become the movie’s real legacy. The drama surrounding Emilia Pérez continues to show itself subtly, like the obvious absence of Karla Sofía Gascón on camera during the Oscars.

A Mexican journalist asked Zoe Saldaña about the backlash against Emilia Pérez after her Oscars win

Zoe Saldaña made history as the first American of Dominican descent to win the Oscars. A Mexican journalist asked what everyone has been wanting to ask: What is Saldaña’s feeling about Mexican audiences’ overall sentiment?

“A lot has been said about the movie, about trans people, [and] about empowering women,” the journalist told Saldaña. “But, less has been said about Mexico, which is the heart of it. So, what would you say about the heart of this movie but also about the topic, which is really hurtful to us Mexicans?”

To Saldaña’s credit, the actress answered the question directly.

“First of all, I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention,” Saldaña responded. “We came from a place of love, and I will stand by that.”

People are not happy with Zoe Saldaña’s answer that Mexico is not the “heart of this movie.”

“I don’t share your opinion,” Zoe Saldaña said at the Oscars. “For me, the heart of this movie was not Mexico. We were not making a film about a country. We were making a film about four women […] 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. So I will stand by that.”

Several people took to social media to share their frustration over Saldaña’s response. Emilia Pérez has been the center of several controversies that have angered Mexican and Mexican American audiences. The press tour for Emilia Pérez turned into an apology tour after director Jacques Audiard and lead star Karla Sofía Gascón sparked controversy.

Audiard enraged Spanish speakers when he disparaged the Spanish language. During an interview, Audiard called Spanish the language of “modest countries, developing countries, the poor, and migrants.” Spanish is the fourth most spoken language in the world. In fact, there are more Spanish speakers in the world than French speakers.

Meanwhile, Karla Sofía Gascón sparked her own controversy when old tweets resurfaced of her using racist and generally hateful language. The backlash to the tweets was swift and so severe that she deleted her X (formerly Twitter) account. Her tweets disparaging co-star Selena Gomez, the Muslim community, and the Oscars seemed to derail her campaign for an Oscar.

Saldaña welcomed a conversation with Mexican peers about what Emilia Pérez got wrong

“I am always open to sit down with all of my Mexican brothers and sisters and, with love and respect, have a great conversation about how Emilia Pérez could have been done better,” said Saldaña. “No problem. I welcome it.”

Emilia Pérez had an opportunity to tell an impactful story about what is happening to millions of innocent people in Mexico. Yet, the conversation that comes forward is how the movie missed the mark in representing the country the story is from. Films can bring attention and nuance to issues in the world. Emilia Pérez missed this mark and people noticed big time.

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