Getting dressed up to sit at a press day and answer the same questions for hours can be mind-numbing work. But every so often, something happens in that very sterile setting that can jolt a celebrity out of their typical canned answers and into something far more real.
That was the case at the Venice Film Festival, where Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri were promoting their roles in Luca Guadagnino’s forthcoming film, “After the Hunt.”
The psychological drama, which explores themes of consent, sexual violence, marginalization, and privilege, is full of capital-I issues to discuss at a junket, and Italian journalist Federica Polidoro took the opportunity to ask about the impact of recent social movements in the US.
“In your opinion, what [have] we lost during the politically correct era,” Polidoro asked in the filmed interview for ArtsLife TV, “and what [do] we have to expect in Hollywood after the Me Too movement and the Black Lives Matter [movement] are done?”
All three actors reacted with visible astonishment; Garfield turned his body to face his costars, and Roberts requested clarification.
“Can you repeat that?” Roberts asked, leaning forward to address the interviewer. “With your sunglasses on, I can’t tell which of us you’re talking to.”
Polidoro then directed the question specifically toward Roberts and Garfield. “The question was for Julia and Andrew,” she said.
After slightly rephrasing her question, Roberts replied firmly, “It’s not done,” before the Emmy-winning “The Bear” star interjected.
“I know that that’s not for me, and I don’t know if it’s purposeful if it’s not for me,” Edebiri replied.
“I don’t think it’s done, I don’t think it’s done at all. Maybe hashtags might not be used as much, but I do think that there’s work being done by activists, by people every day, that’s beautiful, important work,” Edebiri continued as her costars nodded. “Maybe there’s not mainstream coverage in the way that there might have been — daily headlines in the way that it might have been eight or so years ago, but I don’t think it means that the work is done.”
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Garfield agreed, speaking to Edebiri, “The movements are still absolutely alive, as you say.”
After the clip went viral, fans praised Edebiri for keeping her cool
Alessandro Levati/Getty Images
When the interview clip, which was posted on Friday, began circulating online, it sparked both outrage on behalf of the actors and praise for how they handled a tense situation.
Although the movements Polidoro cited deal directly with sexism and racism, Edebiri — the only Black woman present in the group, who therefore is uniquely able to speak to both experiences — was passed over.
The significance of that moment wasn’t lost on Edebiri, who stepped in to answer when Roberts and Garfield gave her the floor.
Fans online lauded Edebiri’s “poise and grace” in speaking up for herself while navigating a tense situation.
“Andrew fully turning in his seat to look incredulously at Julia and Ayo… Julia talking to the interviewer like a stern teacher… all of Ayo’s facial expressions… hope this interviewer got fired,” reads one X post with over 100,000 likes. Another with over 90,000 likes describes Edebiri as a “superstar class act.”
Over on TikTok, clips of the interview are inundated with comments about the interviewer’s “audacity” and the actors’ stunned reactions. One video with over 2.5 million views, which was re-posted by singer-slash-actor Reneé Rapp, celebrates Edebiri’s response as “everything.”
The journalist responded by condemning the ‘personal insults and attacks’ she has received
After a weekend’s worth of discourse, Polidoro shared a statement Sunday on Instagram, addressing the backlash.
“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 wrote. “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.”
Polidoro said the attention should be directed toward the actors’ “thoughtful responses,” rather than how she phrased the question — though she stopped short of apologizing for excluding Edebiri.
“To date, I am not aware of any protocol that dictates the order in which questions must be asked in an interview,” Polidoro wrote.
“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.”
Polidoro also condemned “the digital mob” and “those who unjustly accuse me of racism” while defending her own professional credentials.
“In my view, the real racists are those who see racism everywhere and seek to muzzle journalism, limiting freedom of analysis, critical thinking, and the plurality of perspectives,” her statement reads.
Polidoro, ArtNews, and representatives for Roberts, Garfield, and Edebiri did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
