Who is Federica Polidoro? Italian Journalist responds to backlash over excluding Ayo Edebiri in viral interview

An Italian journalist named Federica Polidoro is facing criticism for seemingly excluding African-American actress and comedian Ayo Edebiri from questions about the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements during a recent interview.

Polidoro is an Italy-born film journalist, theorist, and critic based in New York, USA, and is currently employed at ArtsLife TV.

According to the now-viral video, the interviewer seemed to direct her questions to Edebiri’s co-stars in After the Hunt, Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield. In fact, at one point, Ayo stated, "Yeah, I know that that's not for me, and I don't know if it's purposeful, it's not for me, but I just am curious."

Now, the interview has caused outrage online, forcing Federica Polidoro to respond to the criticism. Posting on Instagram on September 8, she denied leaving Edebiri out of the conversation and wrote:

“I would like to clarify that, rather than focusing on the thoughtful responses of Ayo Edebiri, Julia Roberts, and Andrew Garfield, the discussion continues solely on how I should have phrased the question. All the contributions from those present were reported in full in the published interview, without any omissions.”

Polidoro also claimed that she has been facing “personal insults and attacks” following the interview, which was “not well received by some members of the public.”

“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,” Federica added.

Ayo Edebiri hasn’t addressed the matter yet.

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All you need to know about Federica Polidoro

Federica Polidoro is a film and entertainment journalist, theorist, and critic. She studied broadcast journalism at the New York Film Academy and graduated in 2016. She has worked as an editor and video reporter for the Italian outlet, Gruppo Editoriale L’Espresso, and has traveled across Europe. She is now associated with ArtsLife TV.

Polidoro covered the Festival International du Film de Marrakech in Morocco, where she interviewed celebrities, including veteran filmmaker Martin Scorsese and legendary actor and producer Robert DeNiro.

According to her Golden Globes Awards profile, she also holds a master’s degree in film and audiovisual history, theory, and criticism. Other media outlets where Federica Polidoro has worked include Repubblica, Il Sole 24 Ore, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Il Foglio, Cineuropa, Atribune, and the International Cinephile Society.

She is also a professor of Publishing for Fashion & Entertainment at the National Academy of Fine Arts. Polidoro is a Golden Globes voter, EFA member, provocations specialist, cinema and VR theorist, award season analyst, and digital creator, according to her Instagram bio. She has over 19.1K followers on the platform.

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Exploring Federica Polidoro’s recent statement regarding the Ayo Edebiri interview

On Monday, Federica Polidoro responded to the online criticism for seemingly omitting Ayo Edebiri from her question: "Now that the #MeToo era and the Black Lives Matter [movement] are over, what do we have to expect in Hollywood?"

Polidoro claimed that she wasn’t “aware of any protocol that dictates the order in which questions must be asked in an interview.” She added that “censoring or delegitimizing questions considered ‘uncomfortable’ does not fall within the practice of democracy.”

The journalist remained firm, stating that the Journalists’ Association is only “authorized to evaluate the work of professionals” in their field, not social media users.

“To those who unjustly accuse me of racism, I would like to clarify that in my work, I have interviewed people of every background and ethnicity, and my own family is multi-ethnic, matriarchal, and feminist, with a significant history of immigration,” Federica continued.

She mentioned collaborating with numerous national and international publications of varied political and ethnic backgrounds over the past twenty years, and approaching her work with “openness and professional rigor.”

Federica Polidoro’s statement argued that the “real racists are those who see racism everywhere and seek to muzzle journalism,” along with “limiting freedom of analysis, critical thinking, and the plurality of perspectives.”

She concluded by writing, “Journalism’s role is to ask questions, even on delicate topics, with respect and responsibility. I will not tolerate or accept defamatory or violent language, and I reserve the right to seek legal protection against those who, in recent days, have chosen to hide behind the digital mob to insult and attack me instead of seeking a civil and constructive discussion.”

Notably, during the interview, Federica Polidoro was visibly directing the #MeToo and BLM questions, calling them “politically correct era” to Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield. At one point, Roberts even asked the journalist to “repeat” her question, as with her “sunglasses on,” she was unable to “tell which of us you’re talking to.”

Meanwhile, Garfield laughed uncomfortably, and Ayo Edebiri said, “Um…well” before she was interrupted by Polidoro. Later, The Bear star asked whether that was intentional or not before giving her own answer. She said, “I don’t think it’d been done,” referring to the #MeToo and BLM movements, before explaining that the “hashtags might not be used as much,” but the work was still ongoing by activists and the public.

“That's beautiful, important work that's not finished — that's really, really, really active for a reason, 'cause this world is really charged. And that work isn't finished at all,” Ayo stated.

She continued, “Maybe there's not mainstream coverage in the way that there might have been, daily headlines in the way that it might have been eight or so years ago, but I don't think that it means that the work is done. That's what I would say.”

Meanwhile, Garfied agreed by saying the movements haven’t been “halted” and are “still absolutely alive,” with Edebiri concluding, “just maybe not as labeled and covered, or witnessed or magnified as much in this present moment.”

While Federica Polidoro was called out online for the way she conducted the group interview, Ayo Edebiri earned praise for her reply, despite being seemingly ignored.

After the Hunt premiered at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival last month, it will hit theaters on October 10, with its global release scheduled for October 17.