Zoe Saldana apologises on behalf of 'Emilia Perez' at 2025 Academy Awards

Zoe Saldana extends heartfelt apologies to the Mexican people as she accepts her Oscar.

The Avatar star, who was honoured with the Best Actress in Supporting Role accolade at the 2025 Academy Awards on Sunday, March 2, spoke candidly about offending Mexicans in relation to her film Emilia Perez.

After picking up her award, Zoe told the reporters, “I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention.

“We spoke and we came from a place of love, and I will stand by that. I don’t share your opinion. For me, the heart of this movie, was not Mexico.

Sharing her stance on the controversial subject, she further went on to add, “We weren’t making a film about a country. We were making a film about four women.”

This comes after her role in the Netflix original was subject to controversy, over star Karla Sofia Gascon's resurfaced tweets.

In addition, Zoe explained that the women in leading roles could have been from any background, including Russian, Dominican, or even Israeli, for that matter, debunking any such racism rumors.