Gina Rodriguez star "Jane the Virgin" live tweeted the shows's midseason premiere Monday, after filling up her social media accounts with her personal campaign to bring more attention to Latino actors.
Rodriguez launched #MovementMondays on her WhoSay page with a shoutout for actor Oscar Isaac, who Rodriguez noted is Guatemalan American. She praised him not for his perhaps better known Star Wars role as Poe Dameron, but for his role as Nathan Bateman in Ex-Machina. Rodriguez called his Ex Machina performance, Oscar worthy.
"With all this Oscar Talk and lack of diversity I decided to start a movement and speak from the perspective of a Latina American who desires to see more Latinos on screen," wrote Rodriguez, who won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in "Jane The Virgin" in 2015 and was nominated again this year.
Related: Golden Globe Winner Gina Rodriguez's Shout Out To the Latino Community
Her campaign comes amid criticism of the 2016 Oscars and the absence of any actors and filmmakers of color among the nominees for awards, giving rise to the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite.
Rodriguez urged Latinos to go see movies that star Latinos so studios will see Latino stars as bankable.
"Right now there isn't one Latino that can Greenlight a movie," she wrote. "That means no studio will put their money behind a Latino face as a lead of a movie because they don't believe we can make their money back. I am told time and time again "Latinos don't watch Latino Movies. Latinos don't support each other" and sadly that is true."
Related: Analysis: Plenty of Latino-Themed Films Could Be Made and Be Oscar Bait
Although supportive responses and writeups in various entertainment media followed, one comment she wrote, "The industry sees money, the excuse can't be racism" drew questions about whether she was denying the existence of racism. Rodriguez had a response.
She went on to ask others not to "misinterpret my heart."
Since the #OscarsSoWhite controversy and threats of a boycott, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, which votes on Oscar nominations and winners, has changed its membership policies to bring more diversity to its members.
