While speaking to a group of Academy and BAFTA members, Iranian-American director-writer Ramin Bahrani, who is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay for Netflix film The White Tiger, was subjected to racist insults from a bystander. Last week, Bahrani, who was born and raised in North Carolina, was doing a Zoom Q&A with The White Tiger executive producer Ava DuVernay when the incident occurred, reported PEOPLE.
Speaking on the matter, Bahrani told the website, “I was in Atlanta on location in a residential neighborhood directing a TV pilot. We had worked late that day, so I had to do my Zoom interview with Ava on my phone while we were still in the street. During the interview, I noticed a car parked behind me. When the driver saw me and my colleague (who is South Asian) he said, ‘You all think you run the world. You all don’t run s***.’ His friend told him to calm down and leave it alone. As the driver pulled away, he shouted, ‘Go back to your own country!'”
Priyanka Chopra offered her support to Bahrani after the incident. “Asking me about my thoughts on what happened to Ramin is a sign of where we stand today, and the work we have to continue to do. So my question in response is – who belongs here, and who doesn’t? Isn’t America a melting pot of all people from all backgrounds? This country was built on the back of immigrants in search of the American dream, a life of freedom, opportunity, and a safe place not only for themselves but for their families.”
She further shared, “This is about how common it is for many communities to live with incidents like this happening all the time. Content by Hollywood is embraced by the world, but the world is not always embraced by Hollywood. Hollywood and pop culture, in general, have a massive responsibility in this fight for racial equality and representation in global entertainment.”
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