"Jane the Virgin" star Gina Rodriguez has kicked up a storm after she claimed in an interview that black and Asian women are paid more than Latina women.
The 34-year-old actor made the controversial comments during a conversation on Net-A-Porter's "The Big Television Debate", where she was joined by Ellen Pompeo, Gabrielle Union, and Emma Roberts.
"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," Rodriguez had 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," she added.
Rodriguez's comments did not go down well with social media user and she was heavily criticised, with many people labelling her anti-black.
TV critic Rebecca Theodore-Vachon tweeted, "Regarding Gina Rodriguez saying Black actresses are paid more than Latinx actresses Sofia Vergera is the highest paid according to Forbes (USD 42.5 million). Kerry Washington is the only Black actress on this list at #8."
Another person wrote, "I honestly wonder how Black latinas like Gina Torres, Tatyana Ali, Tessa Thompson, and even the perpetually lost Zoe Saldana feel about Gina Rodriguez's consistent jabs at Black women."
Rodriguez is yet to respond to the social media outrage.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
