Actress Eva Amurri Martino, the daughter of Italian director Franco Amurri and Susan Sarandon, was bashed on social media after she threw her 5-year-old girl a Mexican-themed party.
The outrage started when the actress shared many photos of the party on social media, which featured Marlow, her daughter, wearing sugar skull face paint.
However, critics accused the mother of cultural appropriation while perpetuating Mexican stereotypes.
Martino wrote in a long post that she never wanted to offend anyone and only hosted the birthday party because of her daughter’s love for the Disney movie ‘Coco.’
She wrote in a lengthy post: “With everything going on in this political climate, I thought now would be a great time to celebrate Mexico and the role it has had in our country culturally.
“Anybody who knows Marlowe knows she is obsessed with Mexico — she has had incredible Latin women taking care of her from three weeks old, and one in particular from Mexico who would always call her ‘cinco de Marlowe’ on May 5th.”
The actress also said that her daughter even learned Spanish before English, which made her very “proud that she was getting so much from another culture.”
Martino added: “When the movie Coco came out, Marlowe loved it and felt really connected to it because she had heard about a lot of the themes of the movie from people she cares about.
“She wanted all these things brought together for her fifth birthday since she was finally, actually turning ‘cinco!’ Of course this party was a rudimentary representation of Mexican culture since it was for young kids.”
The mother also defended herself against charges of insensitivity by saying that she and her husband have been working to help reduce the crisis at the southern border.
Martino concluded: “This aside, we don’t only think it’s important to highlight the beauty of Mexican culture, or the horrors of the attack on Mexicans of late, with a bday party.
“From when this all first started, we have been donating to those effected — and I also wrote a blog post which I’m putting in my bio. We also have been calling our senators … Regardless of that, I know so many emotions are running high right now surrounding this topic, so sorry to anyone we offended!”
Many internet users replied to her post with enthusiasm and grace, appreciating her for pointing out the beauty of Mexican culture.
One commented: “Such a beautiful party and such a sweet touching post. As another Mexican follower this is so heartwarming. I wish more people wished to understand each other’s culture.”
Another wrote: “I didn’t understand why some were offended. It’s a party, a little girl party not an exhibition of Mexican culture, not a museum … it’s beautiful to know that not Mexicans like the Mexican culture.”
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this post with your family and friends! :)
Replaced!