Jamie Lee Curtis cops backlash for Ana De Armas comments

Jamie Lee Curtis speaks at James Hong's Star Ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Photo / Getty

Actress Jamie Lee Curtis is copping heat online for some eyebrow-raising comments she made about former co-star Ana De Armas in a recent interview.

Curtis starred alongside De Armas in the 2019 hit film Knives Out – and she offered some words about their first meeting in a new Elle profile of the Cuban-Spanish actress, who was 30 and had starred in a string of Hollywood films including Blade Runner 2049 and War Dogs by the time she landed a leading role in Knives Out.

Jamie Lee Curtis was part of an ensemble cast with Ana de Armas in Knives Out. Photo / Supplied

"I assumed — and I say this with real embarrassment — because she had come from Cuba, that she had just arrived. I made an assumption that she was an inexperienced, unsophisticated young woman. That first day, I was like, 'Oh, what are your dreams?'" Curtis told the outlet.

In fact, Armas, who grew up in Cuba, moved to Madrid at 18 before relocating to Los Angeles in 2014, five years before Knives Out was made.

She also told Elle that she offered to introduce her co-star to Steven Spielberg or to her godchildren, Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal – and was "surprised [De Amas] already knew Jake".

Curtis' comments were met with a mix of bewilderment and backlash online, with many questioning why exactly she volunteered this information so forthcomingly and accusing the actress of casual racism for her assumption De Armas was "inexperienced (and) unsophisticated".

That Jamie Lee Curtis story is a GREAT reminder that there are some deeply embarassing expeirences that you should keep to yourself.

— Darth Talon headpiece (@Pawel_Luki) July 13, 2022

Now why did Jamie Lee Curtis say that

— César Award Winner Baby Annette (@kbaileyjava2) July 13, 2022

The casual racism of Jamie Lee Curtis re; Ana De Armas is... both infuriating and totally expected. It's cringy as hell, and also exactly in line with how Americans are told and taught to think about both Cuba specifically and Hispanic people generally.

— Luciano, But They Are Quite Proud (@Lucianowrites) July 13, 2022

RIP Jamie Lee Curtis https://t.co/d72wGp4NnL

— violue (@violue) July 13, 2022

anna de armas: hello jamie lee curtis
jamie lee curtis: hello housekeeping

— ❤️‍🔥 (@dunwaIl) July 13, 2022

jamie lee curtis when she realized ana de armas could speak english: pic.twitter.com/8JWSpRBlgn

— lauryn✨ (@laurynwazhere) July 13, 2022

This Jamie Lee Curtis notes app apology is gonna be good

— kayla “rewind” phaneuf (@kaylaphaneuf) July 13, 2022

Jamie Lee Curtis really said “I assumed — I say this with embarrassment — because Ana De Armas had come from Cuba, that she just arrived. I was like, ‘Oh, what are your dreams?'”

Yet she wasn't too embarrassed to openly tell the story for the world to see/read about

— 🎨 🖌🖍ArtsySneakerGeek (@BamaIntrovert) July 13, 2022

Jamie Lee Curtis assumed Ana de Armas was “unsophisticated” because she’s a young latina immigrant. It’s this type of attitude/thinking that leads to Hispanic women being the most underpaid demographic in the US. https://t.co/wgYThdsEkp

— Alix Mendoza (@alix_iconic) July 13, 2022

what's wild about this Jamie Lee Curtis/Ana de Armas debacle is that the reporter genuinely just asked Curtis what she thought of Armas. why'd she have to go and say all that?????? https://t.co/jrivZI9heS pic.twitter.com/aAxY9u0gk1

— joanie baby gorgeous (@laracroftbarbie) July 13, 2022

Elsewhere in the profile, De Amas' fellow Knives Out co-star offered more straightforward praise of the actress, telling Elle: "I'm a fan first. There are certain people on camera you can't stop watching, and her range, from power to vulnerability, is incredibly wide. She can go from almost dangerous to exposed, gentle and soft in one scene."

It's not Curtis' first foot-in-mouth moment in recent months. In May, the Everything Everywhere All At Once actress mounted a one-woman campaign to attract more viewers to her acclaimed indie movie – by dissing Marvel's latest offering, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Curtis in Everything Everywhere All At Once.

She posted poor reviews of the Marvel film to her Instagram account, bragging that in contrast her film "has a deep BEATING heart and BRILLIANT visual treats, EXTRAORDINARY performances and FANTASTIC BEASTLY FIGHT SCENES...... AND it COST LESS than the ENTIRE craft service budget on Doctor Strange and/or any other Marvel movie."

Curtis also pre-empted complaints about her unfiltered post, writing: "COMPETITIVE? F**k YES. I wasn't head cheerleader in high school for nothing."

But Curtis' "competitive" move backfired, with the star copping an overwhelmingly negative response from those who thought it an unnecessarily negative way to draw attention to her film.