Jane The Virgin ‘s Gina Rodriguez has received a wave of social media backlash for comments that she made during a roundtable interview alongside Ellen Pompeo, Emma Roberts, and Gabrielle Union. As Atlanta BlackStar notes, Rodriguez has been getting slammed because she said that black women get paid more than Latinas.
“I get so petrified in this space talking about equal pay especially when you look at the intersectional aspect of it, right? Where white women get paid more than black women, black women get paid more than Asian women, Asian women get paid more than Latina women, and it’s like a very scary space to step into,” the actress said. “Because I always feel like I fail when I speak about it because I can’t help but feel already so gracious to do what I do and I feel like, culturally, I feel like I was raised to just feel so appreciative of getting here.”
While the comment seems innocuous, many claimed that this was an example of Rodriguez showing her anti-blackness. Quite a few social media users said that she had displayed a tendency to make these types of comments in the past.
“At this point, this is the 3rd or 4th blatantly anti-black things Gina Rodriguez has said and I think we may wanna just call a spade a spade at this point and agree she has some severe anti-black views.” wrote a Twitter user with the handle @ShanelleLittle.
Some cited an interview that she did with Black-ish ‘s Yara Shahidi to promote the movie Smallfoot as one time when Rodriguez showed her anti-blackness. At one point during the chat, the interviewer notes that Shahidi is a role model for black women. Rodriguez interrupts and asserts that Shahidi is a role model for “all women.”
Gina Rodriguez is also the co-founder of a lingerie line called Naja, and in 2016, they launched a line of nude-colored underwear that catered to women with brown skin tones. In a press release quoted by People Magazine , the company claimed to be “redefining” the color nude in the lingerie industry with the “Nude For All” collection, but social media users pointed out that a brand called Nubian Skin had built their company around providing nude undies for black and brown women years before.
Nubian Skin was founded in 2013 by a black woman named Ade Hassan, three years before Naja’s “Nude For All” campaign.
Gina Rodriguez has not responded to the social media backlash as of writing.
Gina Rodriguez’s ‘Miss Bala’ Features Rare Leading Role for Latinx Actor, Diverse Crew https://t.co/hQ8HnOXRLO pic.twitter.com/IJVIg2tBjC
— Variety_Film (@Variety_Film) November 16, 2018