Gina Rodriguez has tearfully hit back after a controversial interview saw her criticised for being "anti-black".
The 34-year-old actress hit headlines last year (18) when she said in an interview with Net-a-Porter: "I get so petrified in this space talking about equal pay especially when you look at the intersectional aspect of it, right? Where white women get paid more than black women, black women get paid more than Asian women, Asian women get paid more than Latina women, and it’s like a very scary space to step into."
Following the release of the interview, many people accused Gina of being "anti-black", and promoting the Latina community at the expense of the black community, but the Jane the Virgin star defended herself during a chat on SiriusXM’s Sway In The Morning.
"I never said actresses. I wasn’t speaking about my industry. I always find it difficult to talk about equal pay as a woman who makes a substantial amount of money. As somebody who came from poverty to now the amount of money I get paid, it doesn’t feel right that I’m the one talking about it, because I’m so damn grateful,” Gina said.
“What I was saying, was that when we talk about equal pay, we have to talk about intersectionality because we all must rise. And so the backlash was devastating to say the least," she continued, before breaking down into tears.
Attempting to compose herself, Gina then explained: "Because the black community was the only community I looked towards growing up. We didn’t have many Latino shows and the black community made me feel like I was seen, so to get anti-black is to say I’m anti-family."
The screen star continued that she made the decision to step away from social media after the scandal, because she found the backlash so difficult to deal with.
"That was a really dark time for me... it made me get away from social media," she went on. "What do you say sorry for cheating when you didn't cheat?
"Right now we are living in a culture that is very very terrifying. You make or misstep or say something that's (taken) out of context, and all of a sudden any work you've ever done is deleted."
She concluded her interview by stating: "If I have hurt you, I am sorry, and I will always be sorry, but you have to know, until you know my heart, there is no way we can live off clickbait."