People Are Begging Zoe Saldaña To “Read The Room” After She Declared That Her “Emilia Pérez” Oscar Is “Trans” And “Goes By They/Them”

The divisive musical, directed by Jacques Audiard, follows a transgender Mexican cartel leader named Emilia Pérez (played by Karla Sofía Gascón) as she seeks help from a lawyer (played by Zoe) to obtain gender-affirming surgery. Emilia keeps her transition a secret from her wife and kids, posing as the aunt of her pre-transition self.

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The film sparked backlash for a number of reasons, though one of the biggest talking points has undoubtedly been its portrayal of the trans experience. The LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD branded the film a “step backwards for trans representation,” arguing that it “recycles the trans stereotypes, tropes, and clichés of the not-so-distant past.”

Months after its release, the backlash against Emilia Pérez grew further when the cast notably made no mention of trans rights as they accepted their controversial Oscar wins — despite the fact that the entire plot of the film centres around a trans woman’s experience, and given the current terrifying political climate for trans folks.

And with this in mind, people are now once again disappointed that Zoe — who still hasn’t spoken out at length about trans rights — stated that her Oscar statuette “goes by they/them.”

This week, at the LA premiere of her new movie Elio, Zoe reflected on her Oscar win, saying, “We have it in my office and my Oscar is gender fluid,” before adding that it's "trans.”

“funny cause she completely omitted any mention of the trans community during her acceptance speech,” someone wrote. “had the whole press tour and many award show platforms to say something, ANYTHING about the attacks on trans people and this is what she comes up with months after her big (undeserved) oscar win. boo tomato boo,” another user echoed.

“Trans people: we need help the government is trying to kill us, please stand up for us in a meaningful way. Zoe Saldaña: My trophy is an enby,” one user quipped, while someone on Reddit shared, “She said this but said nothing about trans rights during her acceptance speech. Oof.”

Yikes. Let me know what you think in the comments.