Eva Longoria has apologised for saying that Latinas are the “real heroines” of Joe Biden’s US election win, explaining that she misspoke.
In a recent interview on MSNBC, the Desperate Housewives star said: “The women of colour showed up in a big way. 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 and voting for Biden/Harris at an average rate close to three to one.”
After an online backlash, in which the actor was accused of “anti-Blackness” and “the erasure of Black Latinx women”, Longoria said sorry and clarified her comments.
“I’m so sorry and sad to hear that my comments on MSNBC could be perceived as taking credit from Black women,” she tweeted. “When I said that Latinas were heroines in this election, I simply meant that they turned out in greater numbers and voted more progressively than LATINO MEN.”
She added: “My wording was not clear and I deeply regret that, there is such a history in our community of anti-Blackness and I would never want to contribute to that.”
Longoria then went on to celebrate the actions of Black women, saying they are the “backbone of the Democratic Party” and saying she has “nothing but love and support for black women everywhere”.
She concluded: “You deserve a standing ovation!!!!”
Biden was declared the winner of the US presidential election on Saturday (7 November) after he won Pennsylvania and surpassed the required 270 electoral college votes.
Donald Trump has since issued a statement refusing to accept the results of the election.
