Ayo Edebiri addresses viral After the Hunt…
She couldn’t bear less about it.
Ayo Edebiri has finally addressed the now-viral exchange she shared with an Italian journalist while discussing her latest film, “After the Hunt,” at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month.
The “Bear” star opened up about the incident shortly after the Luca Guadagnino-directed flick, which also stars Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield, premiered at the New York Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 26.
Ayo Edebiri during the 63rd New York Film Festival in New York City on Sept. 26, 2025. Getty Images for FLC
Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield and Ayo Edebiri during the 63rd New York Film Festival in New York City on Sept. 26, 2025. Getty Images for FLC
“I think I’m less online than I used to be,” Edebiri, 29, responded after a fan requested if she was conscious how viral the second has change into. “So I didn’t really, to be completely honest. And I love to lie! I make money lying!”
However, the “Opus” actress added that the shocking exchange paralleled some of the themes featured in “After the Hunt,” which follows a professor (Roberts) who is compelled to reexamine her own past after a pupil (Edebiri) accuses another professor (Garfield) of a critical crime.
“But I didn’t really pay too much attention, but I think it was just a very human moment, and think in a strange way, an uncomfortable conversation is one of the many things our film is about,” the Emmy winner continued. “So shout out to tie-ins!”
Chloë Sevigny, Luca Guadagnino, Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield posing at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on Aug. 29, 2025. Getty Images
Andrew Garfield, Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri during an interview for “After the Hunt” at the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 5, 2025.
Andrew Garfield, Julia Roberts and Ayo Edebiri during an interview with Italian journalist Federica Polidoro about “After the Hunt” at the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 5, 2025.
The incident first made headlines earlier this month when Edebiri, Roberts, 57, and Garfield, 42, sat down with Italian reporter Federica Polidoro to talk about “After the Hunt” following its premiere in Venice.
Polidoro posed Edebiri’s co-stars, but not Edebiri herself, a charged query about the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter actions.
“What have we lost in the politically correct era, and what can we have to expect in Hollywood after the #MeToo movement and the Black Lives Matter are done?” the journalist requested Roberts and Garfield.
Ayo Edebiri attends the crimson carpet for the 82nd Venice International Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Aug. 29, 2025. WireImage
Ayo Edebiri during her now-viral interview at the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 5, 2025.
Ayo Edebiri during an interview for “After the Hunt” at the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, on Sept. 5, 2025.
The “Bottoms” star, however, pushed back and answered the query anyway.
“I know that that’s not for me, and I don’t know if it’s purposeful if it’s not for me… [but] I don’t think it’s done,” Edebiri started.
“Hashtags might not be used as much, but I do think that there’s work being done by activists, by people every day, that’s beautiful, important work,” she continued. “That’s not finished, that’s really, really active for a reason because this world’s really charged. And that work isn’t finished at all.”
Ayo Edebiri in “After the Hunt.” ©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection
Ayo Edebiri and Julia Roberts in “After the Hunt.” ©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection
Garfield added that both the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter actions are “still absolutely alive,” while Roberts agreed that the “work isn’t finished at all.”
Although Polidoro later took to social media after the exchange went viral to reply to the critical backlash against her, she never explained why she excluded Edebiri from the query in the first place.
“Following an interview, I have been subjected to personal insults and attacks because of a question that, for some reason, was not well received by some members of the public,” Polidoro wrote in a prolonged assertion.
Federica Polidoro shared a prolonged assertion on Instagram following the backlash against her for excluding Ayo Edebiri from the query. federica__polidoro/Instagram
“I find it striking that those who unjustly accuse me of racism and consider themselves custodians of justice find acceptable violent language, personal attacks, and cyberbullying,” she added.
The Post reached out to both Edebiri and Polidoro for remark.
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