Eva Longoria's Comments About The Election Have People Furious
It was one of the most contentious elections in U.S. history but even after Joe Biden was declared the winner commentators from all sides of the political spectrum continued to fight among themselves. Amidst the mess of voices struggling for attention, actress Eva Longoria emerged as someone with plenty to say but seemingly little understanding of how her words were actually being understood. Appearing on MSNBC, the Desperate Housewives star suggested Latina women were predominantly to thank for president-elect Biden's ultimate, and highly contested, victory.
"The women of color showed up in big ways. Of course, you saw in Georgia what Black women have done but Latina women are the real heroines here," Longoria, a vocal Democratic activist, opined late Sunday night. As the L.A. Times reports, the issue of whether the importance of Black people, and specifically Black women, in getting Biden elected is being pushed aside is gaining prominence so Longoria's comments were particularly ill-timed.
Eva Longoria walked back her controversial comments
In the face of mounting backlash, the Desperate Housewives actress took to Instagram to clarify her comments. "Watching this back I can see that this sounds like I'm comparing Latinas to Black women, which I would never do," she advised. Longoria explained, "I was comparing Latinas to their male counterparts, but my wording was not clear and I deeply regret that." Tackling the hot-button topic of Black women's part in electing Democratic candidates over the years being consistently downplayed, Longoria noted, "Black women have long been the backbone of the Democratic Party, something we have seen played out in this election as well as previous ones. Black women deserve a standing ovation for the work they have done year after year!!"
Social media blew up in response to the actress's initial comments, with congresswoman Ilhan Omar tweeting simply, "Stop erasing the work of Black women," garnering thousands of retweets. Several commenters also pointed out that Longoria's comments didn't acknowledge Black Latinas. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists publicly rebuked her, tweeting, "Eva Longoria should apologize for her divisive comment about 'real heroines.' We have to stand up for Black women, including Black Latinas, who are standing up against injustice for all of us."