An Italian entertainment reporter has faced a huge internet backlash after a tense interview encounter with actors Andrew Garfield, Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri.
In an awkward moment that’s gone viral online over the past few days, Federica Polidoro can be heard interviewing the trio, who all star in director Luca Guadagnino’s new film After the Hunt, during a press junket for the film.
The psychological drama stars Roberts as a college professor who finds herself at a crossroads when her star pupil (Edebiri) levels serious accusations against one of her colleagues (Garfield).
During the interview, the reporter asks them what they thought was “lost during the politically correct era” of the Me Too and Black Lives Matter movements.
The stars have a noticeable reaction: Garfield turns pointedly to his colleagues, perhaps wondering who should field the question.
Roberts then responds, leaning forward and giving the reporter something of a dressing down.
“Can you repeat that? With your sunglasses on, I can’t tell which of us you’re talking to, so …” she says sternly. Polidoro repeats the question, this time specifying that it is intended only for Garfield and Roberts to answer.
“The question was for Julia and Andrew: Now that the Me Too movement and the Black Lives Matter era are done, what [do] we have to expect in Hollywood, and what we lost – if we lost something – from the politically correct era?”
Edebiri’s face during this question – processing that she, the only black person present, has been purposefully excluded from a question about the Black Lives Matter movement being “done” – became an instant meme online as the clip spread.
Roberts gives a terse response to the question – “It’s not done” – before Edebiri raises her hand to field it.
“I know that [question’s] not for me, and I don’t know if it’s purposeful that it’s not for me, but I don’t think it’s ‘done’ at all. There’s work being done every day, and that work isn’t finished at all. Maybe there’s not mainstream coverage in the way it might have been, but I don’t think it means that the work is done,” she says.
“… Or that the movements have halted,” Garfield offers in agreement.
Reaction to the moment was swift, with many on social media demanding the reporter be sacked.
“That question was appalling, especially the way that the interviewer ignored Ayo Edebiri when it’s about MeToo and black lives matter,” one person tweeted.
“Why did the interviewer exclude her from the conversation?” another asked.
after being deliberately excluded, ayo edebiri answering a question about the political state of the hashtag “metoo” and “black lives matter” movement with poise and grace for ‘after the hunt’ press in venice pic.twitter.com/svhW7AF06B
— ayo’s wannabe best friend 🤎 (@writtenbyayo) September 6, 2025
“Such a sensitive question and she didn’t ask the person that could relate to it the most,” said another.
Others couldn’t believe the detail Roberts had thrown into the conversation, telling Polidoro (who remains off-camera throughout) that her wearing sunglasses indoors made it difficult for them to know who she was even addressing.
But the reporter in question hit back with a lengthy statement on social media yesterday, standing her ground.
“Following an interview, I have been subjected to personal insults and attacks because of a question that, for some reason, was not well received by some members of the public,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
“I find it striking that those who unjustly accuse me of racism and consider themselves custodians of justice find acceptable violent language, personal attacks, and cyberbullying.”
The statement has been met with a decidedly negative response – just 71 ‘likes’, compared to almost 2000 comments under the post, the vast majority calling for Polidoro to apologise.
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