The #BLM and #MeToo conversations are far from ‘done’

Accusations of racism have been hurled at Polidoro with such vigour that she issued a public statement a few days later, defending her behaviour and criticising the public response. Not at all surprisingly, it went down like a lead balloon.

Besides shifting the focus entirely to herself, stating she was the victim of ‘violent language, personal attacks, and cyberbullying,’ the journalist went on to chastise the public for not ‘focusing on the thoughtful responses of Ayo Edebiri, Julia Roberts, and Andrew Garfield,’ and expressed confusion as to why anyone had issue with her behaviour.

To make matters worse, Polidoro then suggested that not only did her ‘multi-ethnic, matriarchal, and feminist’ family somehow immunise her from exuding racist behaviour, but also that ‘the real racists are those who see racism everywhere and seek to muzzle journalism.’

That’s a lot to unpack. But Polidoro’s comments point to the very issues that Edibiri so eloquently put forward during the exchange (for which she has received widespread public praise – despite Polidoro’s claims that everyone was too busy caring about her to listen).

It’s disheartening that such a skilled and successful actor should be forced to advocate for her own voice at all, not least on a press tour that exists solely to elevate it. And it certainly shouldn’t be the case that Black individuals shoulder the responsibility of speaking out on issues like Black Lives Matter – or any socio-political movements for that matter.

But actively silencing Edibiri on this topic in favour of her white co-stars’ insights is evidence that we do not live in a ‘post’ anything era. We are firmly in the midst of these things – be it racialised violence, patriarchal aggression, or more subtle and insidious frameworks of inequality.

Moments like these are usually symptomatic of broader systemic issues, like the erasure of voices and the casual centering of whiteness; the assumption that certain perspectives are less valuable or authoritative.

Edibiri’s quiet insistence on being heard was not just a correction of a single journalist’s poor framing – it was a demonstration of agency in a space that too often sidelines it.

‘Maybe there’s not mainstream coverage in the way that there might have been, daily headlines in the way that it might have been eight or so years ago,’ the actor reflected. ‘But […] there’s work being done by activists, by people every day that’s beautiful, important work. And that work isn’t finished at all.’