Rome, Italy — A routine promotional interview has erupted into a social media firestorm, all because an Italian journalist chose to exclude one of the stars from a question about “#MeToo” and “Black Lives Matter” movements.

Federica Polidoro of ArtsLife TV is under digital siege after an interview with Hollywood actors Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, and Ayo Edebiri—stars of the new film After the Hunt—went viral for all the wrong reasons. Critics claim Polidoro “ignored” Edebiri, a black woman, by allegedly excluding her from questions on hot-button topics like Black Lives Matter and the #MeToo movement.

Clips circulated online show Edebiri visibly uncomfortable as Polidoro directed most of her questions to Roberts, 57, and Garfield, 42. Roberts even quipped during the awkward exchange: “Can you repeat that? With your sunglasses on I can’t tell which of us you’re talking to.”

Despite being seemingly overlooked, Edebiri—an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award winner for her role in The Bear—eventually answered one of the questions with grace and composure.

Yet this moment wasn’t enough for online critics. Reddit threads and Twitter/X rants erupted, accusing Polidoro of everything from racial bias to professional misconduct. One Reddit user wrote, “Why would you ask a man about #MeToo but ignore a woman?” Another lashed out, claiming the snub was “blatant racism… in front of cameras and an audience.”

But while left-wing outrage machine kicked into high gear, some viewers appreciated the professionalism of the actors themselves—especially Garfield, who turned his body toward Edebiri and Roberts to share the spotlight. One commenter praised the actor for his tact, joking, “Thank God it was Andrew Garfield and not Chris Pratt. We’d have had a five-minute lecture on cancel culture.”

Still, it was the journalist herself who became the primary target. In response, Polidoro took to Instagram to address the backlash. Calling it a wave of “cyberbullying,” she denounced the attacks as hypocritical and antithetical to actual democratic discourse.

“Those who unjustly accuse me of racism… consider themselves custodians of justice, yet use violent language, personal attacks, and cyberbullying,” she wrote to her 19.1K followers.

Polidoro also stressed that all three actors had their responses included in the final cut, and that no one was silenced or ignored editorially. She challenged the notion that there’s a prescribed “order” or protocol in how interviewers must distribute questions.

“There is no official protocol dictating who must be asked what in an interview,” she stated. “Censoring questions just because they make people uncomfortable does not reflect democratic values.”

Furthermore, she pushed back against the “racist” label—highlighting her decades-long career interviewing people from all backgrounds and her own diverse, immigrant family history.

“My family is multi-ethnic, matriarchal, and feminist,” she added. “Real racism is seeing racism in every interaction and using that to muzzle journalists.”

Polidoro also emphasized that it is not social media, but professional bodies such as Italy’s Journalists’ Association, who should evaluate journalistic conduct. She reserved the right to pursue legal action against those spreading defamatory claims online.

“Journalism’s role is to ask difficult questions respectfully and responsibly,” she concluded. “I will not tolerate defamatory or violent attacks from anonymous trolls masquerading as activists.”

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