Fans react to Zoe Saldaña saying her Emilia Pérez Oscar is ‘trans’ and ‘goes by they/them’

Zoe Saldaña was called tone deaf by several netizens for calling her Emilia Pérez Oscar as ‘trans.'

Actress Zoe Saldaña is under fire as the internet is upset with her recent remarks. At this year's Oscars, Zoe received the 2025 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in Emilia Pérez.

The musical film had received quite a lot of backlash for its portrayal of the trans community. In fact, the LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD stated that the film is a “step backwards for trans representation,” and that it “recycles the trans stereotypes, tropes, and clichés of the not-so-distant past.”

There was also backlash for the cast during the Oscars as the artists, especially Zoe Saldaña, did not advocate for trans rights as they accepted their Oscar wins.

And now yet again, the Marvel actress has disappointed fans. At the LA premiere of her new movie Elio this week, she spoke about her Oscar win and said:

"We have it in my office, and my Oscar is gender fluid,” adding that it's "trans.”

She also said that the Oscar "goes by they/them."

The comment immediately went viral, making her the focus of the lack of representation on the matter.

Fans react to Zoe Saldaña's declaration

Fans, especially from the trans and LGBTQ community, found Zoe Saldaña's comment tone deaf and stated that she needs to "read the room."

Another perspective was that pronouns and s**uality are two different concepts; hence, a trans person doesn't have to go by they/them pronouns.

One user stated:

"I used to like Zoe alot as an actress, have been following her career for years, loved her in the Star Trek, Avatar and GOTG movies. But sheesh, she says alot of ridiculous things nowadays. And the Emilia Perez movie was a dumpster fire."

Another wrote:

"Uh, that's not what Trans is."

One user stated:

"@zoesaldana believe your intention was to support the trans community, but this came across as a bit tone deaf. It risks making the experience of trans people seem like a performance or spectacle, rather than recognizing their full humanitym with real lives and real feelings."

While one commented:

"Come on. This is so performative."

A user expressed:

"Oh good, keep making trans**uality a joke, people have suffer a lot for decades to have an actress say 'my inanimate thing is trans! Yeeey,'"

One netizen talked about why the Latin community also had a problem with the musical,

"She seems nuts to me. Oh and🖕 everything about Emilia Perez. I get why the Mexican and transgender communities had a problem with it."

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