Saldana on Trump’s election: I have realised America is racist

Actor Zoe Saldana (right) says that electing Donald Trump as the US President is a reminder of the strong role that race and sex still play in the US.

“There was a realisation that I just had in this last election. That is, America is racist,” she said on Sway in the Morning show.

Elaborating on her thought, she said, “Of course, there’s racism everywhere. I’m not saying that there isn’t. But I think that sexism is much stronger and it’s much more aggressive.

Noting that CEOs are primarily males, and that in the art world, male painters are the ones that are more successful, primarily, Saldana argued that while women do get involved, their numbers are disproportionately scarce. “(This) lets you know logically that there is an imbalance,” she added.

The 38-year-old actor said that part of the problem is a lack of trust in female leadership. “It’s like the moment a woman gains some kind of position of power, she will be questioned,” she said. By holding women to an unfair standard, Saldana added: “It’s like you’re trying to prove our incompetence.”

Citing Hillary Clinton as an example, Saldana said she “found it offensive” that the Democratic nominee was made to seem “incompetent” over the handling of her email server. “I’m just like, ‘People, she’s up against a man that calls women pigs on national television and she’s incompetent?’ There’s a big problem and we have to address this pink elephant in the room. And it has to do with sexism in America.”