After winning the Golden Globe for Best Actress in the miniseries, The Queen’s Gambit, Anya Taylor-Joy’s award was hailed by Variety magazine as a victory for people of color, which lit a match, since the actress is as white as snow and the only reason she was called that, is because she is of Latin descent.
Variety deleted the paragraph in question and in a sentence at the end of the text noted that the article was modified after receiving a wave of criticism.
The dedicated text to Taylor-Joy about the award read: “Argentinian Taylor Joy is the first woman of color to win this category since Queen Latifah in 2008 and only the fifth woman of color to win overall since 1982, when the category was introduced. S. Epatha Merkerson, Halle Berry and Alfre Woodard were the other previous winners.”
As you can see, the comparisons with other actresses of color were out of place. The actress’s mother, Jennifer Marina Joy, is of English and Spanish descent, while her father, Dennis Alan Taylor, is Argentine of Scottish descent. Given the incongruity of Variety’s words, several users drew attention to it on social networks.
I could listen to @anyataylorjoy say "me lo morfé" all day 🇦🇷🥰
here, she shares how her Argentine roots have shaped her, and what she learned from playing the role of Beth Harmon on The Queen's Gambit. pic.twitter.com/aPMxSwD6iG— Con Todo (@contodonetflix) November 14, 2020
Several fans pointed out to the magazine that it cannot place the actress among the aforementioned African Americans. She identifies as a white Latina. Variety deleted that paragraph and admitted in a sentence at the end of the text that the article was modified.
(Anya for Vulture) pic.twitter.com/Cfn9uPltim
— Saffron Maeve (@saffronmaeve) March 1, 2021
And she was actually born in America so she is an American actress. The ignorance levels of @danielletbd are unmeasurable and again can’t believe she actually works for variety. Journalist is in decay in America.
— Gabi Ramos (@gramoscaldato) March 1, 2021
Not Variety calling Anya Taylor Joy a woman of color! What color? Blonde??
— Lady Reconstruction (@jaelisoverit) March 1, 2021
Variety called Anya Taylor-Joy a "person of colour" because her dad is Argentine. (He's Scottish Argentine.)
— Jonathan Kennedy (@getradified) March 1, 2021
Variety got jokes, but bad ones. What the hell is this? Anya Taylor-Joy is white.
— Black Women's Lives Matter. Carolyn Hinds (@CarrieCnh12) March 1, 2021
Just because she speaks Spanish, and is of Argentinian heritage, doesn't make her a Person of Colour. pic.twitter.com/AvSiIetWYJ
