Mexican actor Eiza González was called out for being racist by a social media user who posted a video that supposedly showed her ignoring her The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare costar Nigerian actor Babs Olusanmokun in order to greet her other, much paler complected costar Henry Cavill. Once Eiza got wind of the accusation, she addressed why it's ridiculous to claim that she was being racist based on the video clip shared.
More from MamásLatinas: How to talk to our children about racism
The thing is that the clip shared claiming that she shunned Babs is completely out of context and should serve as a cautionary tale not to believe everything you see online, even if there are pictures or videos that seem to prove the claim being made. Context is always key! Check out how Eiza clapped back!
In a since deleted post, an X user claimed Eiza ignored her Black costar. But did she?
The video in question was taken at an event for the film The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. In it you can see Eiza warmly greeting another one the film's stars, Henry Cavill.
You can also see that Babs is there and Eiza does not greet him.
Since the clips seems to show Eiza behaving like she's so happy to see Henry Cavill, but couldn't be bothered to greet Babs, user @welllwellwellll on X used it to claim that clearly Eiza is racist.
According to Eiza the clip needs context. She's not wrong.
There is a good reason why Eiza did not greet Babs in that clip and it has nothing to do with racism. There was no reason for Eiza to greet Babs because they actually went to the event together and you only greet people when you first see them.
So what did Eiza clap back?
Her response on X: “Nice try to try to destroy a person’s integrity. Babs is a great friend, such a great friend that we arrived at the event together. This three-second video is us lining up to take a cast photo and Henry was arriving and we both congratulated him on his baby.”
“Babs and I had been together there for 30 minutes. It should be noted that you made it an issue of race. That says a lot more about you than it does about me. It is a shame that people talk about a person’s color at this time. Especially when we are a minority. You should be ashamed about your tweet as it is a reflection of how you think. Greetings from us. Proud to incite these types of conversations in 2024,” she continued.
As mentioned, the initial post was deleted.
Not only was the initial post deleted, the user deleted their whole account. Why? Who knows, but it could be because the whole thing was a sham or because Eiza's fans showed up hard to defend her and went out of their way to out the person behind the @welllwellwellll account.
This isn't the first time that Eiza has been accused of racist behavior.
In 2020, images of Eiza in blackface for her role in the 2007 telenovela Lola, Érase Una Vez resurfaced. She was 15 years old when she filmed the novela and "is deeply sorry and ashamed" about having performed in blackface.
She explained the situation in a statement to Page Six.
“I am deeply sorry and ashamed about having worn blackface makeup shown in the images circulating. As a 15-year-old child actor on my first job in a Mexican telenovela, I was pressured against my will, and with no negotiating power, I could not advocate for myself in the situation,” she told Page Six. “I wish I had the voice and knowledge then that I have now.”
She went on to explain why there were also images of her dressed as a geisha circulating.
“The other image in question is from a trip I took to Japan. According to my host, it is considered an intercultural exchange to dress up in their traditional clothing and makeup,” Eiza stated. “It is seen as an appreciation of their culture, however, I understand that out of context, this calls for a dialogue about contemporary cultural appropriation.”
Putting the blackface and geisha situations in context.
Blackface is never OK. The producers of that telenovela that pressured a child into performing in blackface should be held accountable. As for dressing up as a geisha, I would say it's racist and cultural appropriation if you're doing it as a costume for Halloween, but not so much when offered as an educational and cultural experience for travelers in Japan.
A few closing thoughts to consider.
In closing, I would like to say that we should call each other out on racist behavior because that is how we become actively antiracist. And if we are called out for racist behavior, we shouldn't immediately deny the possibility that our behavior was racist because we must examine our own behavior if we are truly striving to be antiracist.
Weaponizing the calling out of someone as racist for other intents is wrong, though.
Yes, call out racist behavior. It's the only way we as individuals and a society can make change, but knock it off with false accusations whose motives don't actually have anything to do with fighting racism.
In this case, it appears that the person accusing Eiza is a fan of Mexican singer Belinda. As one user explained on X: "The video was uploaded and taken out of context by Belinda fans (@belindapop) who have been attacking her on social media for almost 10 YEARS due to absurd rivalries between her and Eiza."
Keep in mind that the blackface images of Eiza were dug up when there were rumors that Eiza was dating Timothée Chalamet. They were put out by fans of Timothée hoping to get Eiza canceled.
Does this mean Eiza isn't racist?
I don't know. Truth be told, we have all internalized racism to some degree. It's impossible to grow up in Mexico, America, or many other countries in this world that support institutionalized racism and not have blind spots. Still, it seems that the times Eiza has been called out for racist behavior have more to do with haters wanting to take her down because they don't like her than anything else.
