On Sunday night, actress and Democratic Party activist Eva Longoria made a loaded comment about race on MSNBC that triggered roaring criticism from some members of the black community. Among women of color, she said, “Latina women were the real heroines here” by shoring up votes for Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
MSNBC host Ari Melber began the exchange by saying, “If everyone got that on Tuesday night at 9 p.m., what you just walked us through, the huge margins I walked through in the last segment, the power of young voters and particularly the diverse coalition and really the people of color, and specifically women of color, putting Joe Biden over the top and what that means. If that all exploded along with a clear electoral vote margin on Tuesday night, that might have sunk in. Instead, we had a lot of other stuff between then and now that doesn’t really matter. And so I wonder what you think about that, because going forward, this is all about power, and does the Democratic Party understand why it’s back in power?”
Longoria replied, “Yeah, I think you’re bringing up a good point. I think campaign financing needs to be looked at. I think the way in which we campaign. There were so many false ads in Florida in Spanish. Spanish wasn’t regulated the same as in English, and so I do think we need to take a look at that. Again, our work is just beginning.”
Then she launched into her comments on Latina women: “But I want to talk about what you just said about the women. The women, of color, showed up in big ways. Of course you saw in Georgia what black women have done, but Latina women were the real heroines here, beating men in turnout in every state, voting for Biden-Harris at an average rate close to 3 to 1. And that wasn’t surprising to us. Latinas are the CEOs of the households; they make all the financial decisions and health care decisions and educational decisions. Many Latinas are small business owners and they wanted a plan for recovery for themselves, not for Wall Street, and so Trump’s policies were never aimed at the struggling Latina community.”
“You know, if you look at voter suppression on top of that: how Latinas showed up, even through the closing of polling places and the shutting down of drop-off sites and new voter ID laws and long lines and driving 30 miles and all that and on top of that restrictions in safety protocols of a pandemic. That spirit and perseverance that Latinas use in their daily life, the struggle to pay their bills and the struggle to show up to their jobs and homeschool their kids and take care of their elders, that’s the same perseverance and spirit they used to show up to the polls,” she added.
Eva Longoria to @AriMelber on the impact of Latina women: “That spirit and perseverance that Latinas use in their daily life, the struggle to pay their bills and the struggle to show up to their jobs … that’s the same perseverance and spirit they used to show up to the polls,” pic.twitter.com/BiATbXbaeG
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) November 9, 2020
Longoria was bitterly criticized:
Many of these white Latinas HATE to see Black women getting any kind of shine..#smh https://t.co/Yq5VOxYQdA
— Tariq Nasheed 🇺🇸 (@tariqnasheed) November 9, 2020
First Gina Rodriguez, now her.
A lot of "people of color" don't have the range to talk politics & intersectionality and this proves it.
Anti-Blackness is real y'all. https://t.co/Z7vp8tZV8j
— Jon Paul, Ed.D. (They/Them/Tired) 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈✊🏾 (@DoctorJonPaul) November 9, 2020
.@EvaLongoria should be ashamed of herself. She just steam rolled Black women to elevate Latinas who DID NOT clinch this election. Look at the numbers. The WOC narrative is trash. Black women organized across the country to increase turnout, register and forcibly https://t.co/gigJ56ztwb
— Ameshia Cross (@AmeshiaCross) November 9, 2020
Longoria later issued an apology:
Please read 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/KO80U2yarD
— Eva Longoria Baston (@EvaLongoria) November 9, 2020