People Are Begging Zoe Saldaña To “Read The Room” After She Declared That Her “Emilia Pérez” Oscar Is “Trans” And “Goes By They/Them”

It’s been three months since Zoe Saldaña memorably took home the 2025 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in Emilia Pérez.

Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic

The divisive musical, directed by Jacques Audiard, follows a transgender Mexican cartel leader named Emilia Pérez (played by Karla Sofía Gascón) as she seeks help from a lawyer (played by Zoe) to obtain gender-affirming surgery. Emilia keeps her transition a secret from her wife and kids, posing as the aunt of her pre-transition self.

Netlfix

The film sparked backlash for a number of reasons, though one of the biggest talking points has undoubtedly been its portrayal of the trans experience. The LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD branded the film a “step backwards for trans representation,” arguing that it “recycles the trans stereotypes, tropes, and clichés of the not-so-distant past.”

Related: 12 Celebs Who Came Out At A Young Age, And 13 Who Came Out Way Later In Life

Months after its release, the backlash against Emilia Pérez grew further when the cast notably made no mention of trans rights as they accepted their controversial Oscar wins — despite the fact that the entire plot of the film centres around a trans woman’s experience, and given the current terrifying political climate for trans folks.

Kevin Winter / Getty Images

And with this in mind, people are now once again disappointed that Zoe — who still hasn’t spoken out at length about trans rights — stated that her Oscar statuette “goes by they/them.”

Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic

Related: 18 Celebrities Who Called Out Other Celebs On Social Media For Bad, Problematic, Or Just Plain Mean Behavior

This week, at the LA premiere of her new movie Elio, Zoe reflected on her Oscar win, saying, “We have it in my office and my Oscar is gender fluid,” before adding that it’s “trans.”

Maya Dehlin Spach/GA / The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images

Zoe’s comments quickly went viral on X, where several users begged her to “read the room.” “Nobodys got time for this right now Zoe,” read one viral post with over 3.8 million views.

Twitter: @egeofanatolia / Jeff Kravitz / FilmMagic

“funny cause she completely omitted any mention of the trans community during her acceptance speech,” someone wrote. “had the whole press tour and many award show platforms to say something, ANYTHING about the attacks on trans people and this is what she comes up with months after her big (undeserved) oscar win. boo tomato boo,” another user echoed.

Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images for CinemaCon

“Trans people: we need help the government is trying to kill us, please stand up for us in a meaningful way. Zoe Saldaña: My trophy is an enby,” one user quipped, while someone on Reddit shared, “She said this but said nothing about trans rights during her acceptance speech. Oof.”

Yikes. Let me know what you think in the comments.

More on this

Also in Celebrity: If You Get 20/30 On This Difficult ’90s Music Quiz, Then You Honestly Know Your Stuff!!!

Also in Celebrity: 17 Actors Who Said “No” To Nudity And Sex Scenes Out Of Respect For Their Partners, Families, Religion, And More

Also in Celebrity: Here Are 10 Celebs Who’ve Publicly Admitted The Reasons Why They Regret Ending Their Marriages