Michelle Rodriguez: Minorities in white roles 'stupid'

Michelle Rodriguez posted a video of herself apologising on Facebook for making racially insensitive comments. Photo / AP

Racial equality may be a major issue in Hollywood, but somehow Michelle Rodriguez managed to cause offence by petitioning for ethnic parity.

The Fast & Furious actor, who enjoyed a renaissance in the media last year after dating British model Cara Delevingne, called the fact non-white actors were cast in "white" roles "stupid".

"Because of this whole 'minorities in Hollywood' thing... it's so stupid. Stop stealing all the white people's superheroes," she said in a video obtained by TMZ. "Make up your own."

Rodriguez was branded insensitive, and later posted a video of herself apologising on Facebook. Laughing at her faux-pas, Rodriquez said "I stuck my foot in my mouth once again."

"I guess it got taken out of context because a lot of people got offended or whatever. I have a tendency to speak without a filter - sorry about that," she said.

"What I really meant was that... I think there are many cultures in Hollywood that are not white and that can come up with their own mythology," she explained.

"It doesn't matter what culture you come from. I'm just saying that instead of trying to turn a girl character into a guy or instead of trying to turn a white character into a black character or a Latin character, I think that people should stop being lazy and people should actually make an effort in Hollywood to develop their own mythology."

This isn't Rodriquez's first brush with controversy. Last year she said the #FreeTheNipple campaign, which is a movement that believes pictures of female nipples should be allowed to be posted on social media, could cause a "rape case influx".

While Rodriguez's initial remark may have been rather too blunt, anyone who's seen Halle Berry's Catwoman will know the fact the actress was black was not what made that film bad.

- Independent