Zoe Saldaña made a bold statement about her “Avatar” character, Neytiri.
“Let’s face it, Neytiri’s a racist,” the actress, 47, said in a recent interview with CinemaBlend while promoting “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”
“And she just… and she loses sight because of this blind fury that she has,” Saldaña continued.
“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
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The Oscar winnerexplained how Neytiri’s behavior affects her relationship with Jake Sully, played by Sam Worthington.
“She loses sight 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.
“So it was powerful. and I think that we really needed to go there,” Saldaña added. “But 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.”
Saldaña plays Neytiri, the fierce Na’vi warrior who falls in love with Jake, a white human-turned-Na’vi, in the “Avatar” franchise. The third film came out Dec. 19.
The actress’s comments about Neytiri went viral on TikTok and sparked backlash with fans.
“She’s a what?! She ain’t a racist she is against colonialism,” one fan wrote.
“Nah I don’t like calling a character racist against colonizers that destroyed her planet, home, land, village, family and culture,” another fan said.
Someone else argued, “Racist???? her hate has NOTHING to do with race….? it’s because she’s sick and tired of her home being attacked and colonised.”
“calling Neytiri a racist is wild
she hates the colonizers and she has every right,” another TikToker stated.
A different fan called Saldaña “insane” for calling Neytiri racist.
“Racist was not the right word,” another comment read.
“this franchise is going in a very concerning direction,” someone else wrote.
But some fans defended Saldaña and argued she’s entitled to her description about Neytiri.
“yall zoe saldana has played neytiri for 18 YEARS she knows her character better than anyone,” one person wrote.
“Ya’ll she literally IS NAYTIRI. You can’t argue when the facts are coming from the direct source,” a different fan said.
A third TikToker added, “She’s being really blunt and no bias at all. Respect.”
The Post has reached out to Saldaña’s rep for comment.
Saldaña, who has been starring in the “Avatar” franchise since 2009, and is signed on for five films total, spoke about the life-changing role in an interview with Deadline earlier this year.
“I was 28 when I did the first movie and I think if all goes to plan, I’m gonna be 53, 54 for the very fifth one and last one. That’s a gift,” she said. “It’s a gift to be able to revisit a character that has given me so much. To revisit a place that has been so magical. Not just for me, but for so many people in the world.”
“We’re talking about communities in the Amazon were able to see Avatar 1, and they were moved by the stories that Jim [Cameron] was saying and how they felt represented in the story that Jim was conveying,” Saldaña continued. “That’s beautiful to be a part of something so impactful.”
“Avatar: Fire and Ash” is in theaters now.
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