Zoe Saldana won big during this year's BAFTAs awards, but viewers wouldn't have heard everything the actress had to say.
The Marvel star delivered an emotional and expletive-filled speech at the 2024 BAFTA Film Awards, celebrating her win for Best Supporting Actress — but British audiences didn’t get to hear all of it.
The BBC cut sections of her speech from the broadcast, reportedly due to time constraints.
Saldana took home the award for her performance in Emilia Pérez, a divisive Netflix film that has been raking in nominations despite mixed audience reception. While the movie has landed 11 Oscar nominations, its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes sits at a brutal 17%.
The movie tells the story of high-powered lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldana) who undertakes an unexpected assignment: helping a Mexican cartel leader (Gascón) fake their death and undergo gender-affirming procedures, per Netflix's Tudum.
A Speech Full of Passion — and Censorship
During the televised portion of her speech, Saldana held back tears, saying: “I was told not to cry by my children, so I’ll try.”
She went on to reflect on her journey, joking about her struggles with British accents: “This is so validating and a true honour, because the very few times that I went for a part with a British accent or dialect coach, I was like, ‘This is not going to happen to you.’”
“Even though I have a lot of British friends, I find myself repeating all their phrases, and I know that I’m a pain in the a**e.”
Saldana also thanked BAFTA for the recognition and gave credit to her director Jacques Audiard and the film’s cast, describing Emilia Perez as a “creative challenge of a lifetime.”
She added: “Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds, and I hope I did something like this. Voices need to be heard, just not my English accent.”
The BBC’s Cuts and the Speech They Didn’t Air
However, the BBC’s version of events didn’t include everything Saldana said, as it scrubbed Saldana’s frustrated outburst when her speech was being cut short: “Oh my god, I'm getting a countdown. F**k, f**k, f**k!”
When the feed returned, laughter could be heard.
At the press conference following her speech, Saldana added one more big thank you, sharing that her trans nephew was her inspiration for taking on the role.
"My nephew, Eli, who is the reason, they are the reason, I signed up to do this film." The 46-year-old added: “So as a proud aunt of a trans life, I will always stand with my community of trans people.”
A BBC spokesperson later addressed the censorship, stating: “As in previous years, due to the nature of the show, it is broadcast with a short delay, and while we always aim to keep the core sentiment of acceptance speeches, edits have to be made due to time constraints.”
Elsewhere during the evening, Emilia Pérez picked up the award for Best Film not in the English Language - and was overall the second-most nominated title at this year’s BAFTA Awards, with 11 nominations in total.
While accepting the award, the film’s French director - Jacques Audiard - said he was “touched”, and declared that the prize "was for everyone who worked tirelessly on this film".
The Emilia Perez Controversy Continues
While Emilia Perez has been a force on the awards circuit, one of its stars, Karla Sofía Gascón, has been noticeably absent from many of the events. Gascón, who played the film’s titular character, has faced backlash for a series of controversial remarks.
Director Jacques Audiard spoke candidly about the situation, telling Deadline: “I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to. She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing.”
“Why is she harming herself? Why? I don’t understand it, and what I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her. I’m thinking of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe and Selena.
"I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us.”
With the Oscars looming just two weeks away, Emilia Perez remains a hot topic — both for its awards success and the drama surrounding it. Whether it will find redemption with audiences remains to be seen.