Michelle Rodriguez Made Me Cry at Comic-Con
Michelle Rodriguez Made Me Cry at Comic-Con
At first, the moderator â a sweet-voiced writer from the LA Times â asked them typical, if interesting, questions. âWhatâs your favorite stunts?” âYour most challenging costumes?” âDo you have trouble leaving your character behind?” That kind of thing.
Then, she half-turned to look at them. âWhatâs the most egregious example of sexism youâve seen on set?”
"Some actor dude once said chicks couldnât drive cars," Michelle scoffed. âI was like, âMove over.â"Â
The audience laughed a little. Sexism! Girls can drive cars. Silly sexist actor boys. No one in the audience was like them.
"One time when a crew member started hitting on me when I was tied to a bed for a scene," Tatiana Maslany offered. âI was young. I was just starting out. I couldnât get away."
Less laughter now from the audience.Â
"Once a guy on set kinda beat the shit out of me during a fight scene," Katee Sackhoff said. âHe said he thought I could âhandle it.â"
No laughter now. Lots of squirming. The guy beside me was checking Twitter.Â
"Heâs lucky I wasnât there," Michelle said. âThat kind of thing makes my blood boil.â
Silence.
Onstage, though, it was like a fucking dam had broken. Michelle lectured us all, at length, on how 80% of the content written for women is by guys, and how they donât know shit. âDudes, I love dudes,” I remember her saying, âBut they donât know how to write for women.” Maggie Q talked about how, as an Asian-American actress, everyone expects her to be quiet and demure and also know how to do kung-fu in heels. Danai Gurira actually used the phrase âwhite male privilege.” In a room full of 6,000 Marvel fanboys! Male privilege.
I kept screaming, entirely spontaneously, like the sound was being ripped out of me. I couldnât help it. I think I cried a little. I felt like I was in church.