Zoe Saldaña faces backlash after making a bold statement against her character in Avatar.
The Oscar-winning actor, who portrayed a fierce Na’vi warrior in James Cameron’s 2009 Avatar movie, made some comments about the upcoming sequel, Fire and Ash. But fans were left more confused than anything by Saldaña’s claim.
@cinemablend "Let's face it, Neytiri's a racist." Zoe Saldaña reacts to her arc in "Avatar: Fire And Ash," and explains why the character weighed on her 🎬🔥 #avatar #avatarfireandash #zoesaldaña #movies #celebrityinterview ♬ original sound – cinemablend
Speaking to Cinemablend, Saldaña opened up about Neytiri’s emotional arc, saying, “Let’s face it, Neytiri’s a racist.”
The 47 actress continued, saying, “And she just… and she loses sight because of this blind fury that she has.” She went on to explain how Neytiri’s behavior affects her relationship with Jake Sully, who is played by Sam Worthington.
“She loses sigh that the person that she loves the most and respects the most in her life is her husband, and he is human, he’s a sky-person and I think it takes a lot of courage for Jake to be honest with her and to force her — even knowing that she is broken, that he knows that she needs to face this, because he sees in the direction that she’s heading and I think it’s much more familiar to him where Neytiri’s heading than for Neytiri herself,” she said.
“I can’t tell you enough how great it was to also take her off every evening and just put her on the side and just go home without her weight on me.”
The internet, of course, didn’t hesitate to share its opinions and reactions to the interview. The TikTok clip has gone viral, with so many coming to Neytiri’s defense, and many even sharing that ‘racist’ isn’t the right word in this context.
“TECHNICALLY shes right ig but there was probably a better way to put it. Neytiris fear and prejudice is justified by her world being actively colonized and destroyed,” one commenter put.
Another commenter also shared their thoughts, saying, “Neytiri is prejudice but not racist. She has no ill will or desire to harm humans. She didn’t come out the gate hating humans or showed no concern for their existence. What happened was every time she interacted with these new people, they came and destroyed everything she had. And let’s be honest, best scenario, the avatars win and humans are sent home…”
Many fans are bashing Saldaña for not understanding her character enough, while others are coming to her defense, saying that “she literally IS NAYTIRI. You can’t argue when the facts are coming from the direct source.”
You can watch Avatar: Fire and Ash in theaters now.