Zoe Saldaña Has Made Several Controversial Choices in the Roles She Takes On

Actor Zoe Saldaña got her start in acting during the height of the teen movie craze. Her roles in Center Stage and Crossroads, which she starred alongside Britney Spears, shot her into superstardom. After her '90s and early 2000s roles, Zoe has more than proven she's here to stay. In January 2026, at 47, the Oscar winner became the highest-grossing actor of all time at the worldwide box office.

Unfortunately, Zoe's impressive achievements haven't been without scandal. Throughout her career, she's faced controversy, mostly for her creative decisions.

Here's what to know.

In 2024, Zoe starred in Emilia Pérez, a Mexico-based drama where she played a disgruntled lawyer, Rita, who helps a drug cartel, Emilia, played by Karla Sofía Gascón, leave the drug-dealing life alone and fulfill a lifelong dream of transitioning into a woman. The film, which also starred Selena Gomez, earned both critical acclaim and harsh criticism. Many within the Mexican and LGBTQ+ communities felt hurt by the way Mexico was portrayed in the film.

According to DW.com, many of the critiques from movie watchers included the fact that, while the movie is about Mexico and Mexican culture, it was produced in a studio near Paris. Additionally, the cast features non-Mexican actors: Spanish trans woman Karla Sofia Gascon in the title role, and US actresses Zoe Saldana and Selena Gomez in other leading parts, which many Mexican audience members took issue with. Others also felt the movie glamorized the real deaths drug cartels in Mexico caused.

Mexican journalist Cecilia Gonzalez also detailed on X (formerly Twitter) how Emilia Perez was "making money from one of the most serious humanitarian crises in the world (mass disappearances in Mexico)," something that didn't represent the country well.

Despite the criticism, Emilia Pérez swept awards season and resulted in Zoe receiving Oscar buzz. In 2025, she took home a golden boy for Best Supporting Actress. According to The Hollywood Reporter, she used her win to address the film's controversy.

"I’m very, very sorry that you and so many Mexicans felt offended. That was never our intention,” Zoe said in a press room. "We spoke and we came from a place of love, and I will stand by that. I don’t share your opinion."

"For me, the heart of this movie, was not Mexico,” she continued. “We weren’t making a film about a country. We were making a film about four women.”

Zoe, who is of Puerto Rican and Dominican descent and is Afro-Latina, has also faced backlash from the Black community during her career. In 2016, she was cast as the late singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone in the 2016 film, Nina. In the movie, Zoe, who is light skinned, wore darker makeup to bring her version of Nina to life. The makeup choice was instantly slammed by online commenters who accused her of engaging in Blackface. Many audience members also slammed the film's casting team for not hiring a dark-skinned Black woman to play the role.

In 2020, Zoe discussed the backlash during a conversation about diversity with Steven Canals, who created and executive produced FX's Pose. She shared that she believed the pushback from the audience was valid and that she would rethink taking on the role today.

"I should’ve tried everything in my power to cast a Black woman to play and exceptionally perfect Black woman,” Zoe said. "It was painful. I thought back then that I had the permission because I was a Black woman.”

The Avatar star also said she agreed with most critics that Nina deserved to be remembered in a more accurate way.

“Nina had a life and had a journey that should’ve been and should be honored to the most specific detail because she was a specifically detailed individual about her voice, her opinions and her views and her music and her art,” Zoe declared. “She was so honest so she deserved better.”

While she's not a stranger to controversy, the actor isn't afraid to admit when she's dead wrong. And, sometimes, an apology is more than enough.