Zoe Kravitz on the Oscar-slap backlash: I wish I had handled that differently

Zoe Kravitz covers the latest issue of WSJ. Magazine. It’s a reminder that we actually haven’t heard anything about her or from her since late March. She went silent for months following the Oscars and the subsequent backlash against her for criticizing Will Smith. To recap, Zoe posted her Oscar looks on Instagram and captioned the photos “here’s a picture of my dress at the award show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now” and “and here is a picture of my dress at the party after the award show -where we are apparently screaming profanities and assaulting people on stage now.” Black Twitter came with the receipts, like her utter silence on her friend Alexander Wang assaulting people, her creepy behavior towards a then-14-year-old Jaden Smith, or her relationship (at 20) with a then 17-year-old Ezra Miller. Black Twitter also had all of Zoe’s history of not wanting to appear on Black magazines and not considering Black people to be “her audience.” All of those receipts dropped within about 24 hours. It took more than four months for Zoe to even dare to open her mouth again. Some highlights from WSJ.:

On the backlash against her online post-Oscars: “I’m torn about what to say right now, because I’m supposed to just talk about it; I have very complicated feelings around it. I wish I had handled that differently. And that’s okay.”

She’s now thinking differently about speaking out on social media. “It’s a scary time to have an opinion or to say the wrong thing or to make controversial art or statements or thoughts or anything. It’s mostly scary because art is about conversation. That should, in my opinion, always be the point. The internet is the opposite of conversation. The internet is people putting things out and not taking anything in. I was reminded that I’m an artist. Being an artist is not about everybody loving you or everyone thinking you’re hot. It’s about expressing something that will hopefully spark a conversation or inspire people or make them feel seen. I think I’m in a place right now where I don’t want to express myself through a caption or a tweet. I want to express myself through art.”

On Channing Tatum: “When you make things with people it’s a very sacred space, and when you’re compatible with somebody creatively it often opens up other channels, because you’re kind of sharing all of yourself. I’m really grateful that this movie has brought him into my life that way.”

She vibed that Tatum was a feminist: “I felt, even from afar, before I knew him, that he was a feminist and that he wasn’t afraid of exploring that darkness, because he knows he’s not that. That’s why I was drawn to him and I wanted to meet with him. And I was right.”

[From Variety & Page Six]

“I wish I had handled that differently. And that’s okay.” So eager to forgive herself! It should have been “I wish I had handled that differently. I learned that I don’t have to share every dumb thought in my head.” And no, it’s not a “scary time to have an opinion.” It’s a scary time to be a dumbass with sh-tty opinions because people will pull out the receipts on you. It’s a scary time to have an opinion and expect that you’ll never get any backlash or reaction for having sh-tty opinions.

Cover courtesy of WSJ. Magazine, additional photos courtesy of Avalon Red & Backgrid.

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