Ayo Edebiri drew widespread attention after a video clip showed her visibly shocked and then answering a question about the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements that an Italian interviewer had directed only to co-stars Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield.
The exchange took place during a promotional interview for the film After the Hunt with ArtsLife Tv, where film journalist Federica Polidoro asked Roberts and Garfield, “Now that the #MeToo era and the Black Lives Matter [movements] are done, what do we have to expect in Hollywood? And what we lost, we lost something, with the politically correct era.” Garfield turned toward his co-stars and laughed uncomfortably; Roberts appeared taken aback and said, "Can you repeat that? With your sunglasses on, I can’t tell which of us you’re talking to." Edebiri initially listened with a shocked expression before speaking up.
Polidoro reiterated that the question was for Roberts and Garfield. Edebiri nevertheless responded directly, saying she did not believe either movement’s work was finished. “Yeah, I know that that’s not for me, and I don’t know if it’s purposeful it’s not for me, but I just am curious. I don’t think it’s done. I don’t think it’s done at all,” she said. She added that while hashtags might appear less in mainstream coverage than eight years ago, activists and other people continue important work every day.
Roberts and Garfield both signaled agreement as Edebiri spoke. The brief clip circulated widely on social media, prompting criticism of Polidoro for excluding Edebiri, who plays Maggie in After the Hunt. In the film — directed by Luca Guadagnino and set for an Oct. 10 release — Roberts plays a college professor caught between a sexual-abuse accusation by a student, Maggie, and a colleague. Garfield plays Hank, the colleague accused by the student.
The trio and Guadagnino promoted After the Hunt at the Venice International Film Festival last month, and the ArtsLife Tv interview was part of that press run.
After facing intense online backlash, Polidoro posted a statement to Instagram addressing the reaction. She wrote that, rather than focusing on the responses of Edebiri, Roberts and Garfield, public attention had centered on how she had phrased the question. Polidoro said all contributions from those present were reported in full in the published interview, asserted she was not racist and described her family as "multi-ethnic, matriarchal, and feminist, with a significant history of immigration." She added that she reserved the right to seek legal protection against those who attacked her online.
The clip renewed public conversation about who gets invited to speak on issues of race and gender in media settings and how journalists frame questions in mixed casts and panels. Edebiri’s on-camera reply emphasized that, in her view, activism and accountability around sexual misconduct and racial justice remain active efforts rather than concluded eras.