Jamie Lee Curtis Assumed ‘Knives Out’ Co-Star Ana de Armas was ‘Unsophisticated,’ ‘Just Arrived’ from Cuba

Halloween franchise star Jamie Lee Curtis, a gun control pusher, who backed Joe Biden in 2020 says she feels “real embarrassment” for assuming actress Ana de Armas — who hails from Cuba — was “an inexperienced, unsophisticated young woman” who had “just arrived” in the United States when they met on set in 2019.

“I assumed — and I say this with real embarrassment — because she had come from Cuba, that she had just arrived,” Curtis told Elle magazine of the time she met de Armas while filming Knives Out in 2019.

“I made an assumption that she was an inexperienced, unsophisticated young woman,” the actress added. “That first day, I was like, ‘Oh, what are your dreams?”

According to Elle, de Armas, who is now 34, left Cuba for Spain at age 18, and then moved to Los Angeles at the age of 26.

Curtis went on to say that she asked de Armas what her dreams were because she was so impressed with the actress, that she wanted to introduce her to Steven Spielberg to play Maria in West Side Story, or to her godchildren Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal.

But Curtis was surprised to learn that de Armas already knew Jake Gyllenhaal, and was also close with Keanu Reeves.

“She is not as fancy as maybe the advertisements would have you believe. She leans in, interested; talking to her is kind of give-and-take. She’s curious and asks a lot of questions,” Curtis added of de Armas.

Curtis’ blind assumptions about de Armas is for many critics just one of the many examples of a racial closedmindedness that plagues Hollywood — an industry that oftent to project its own flaws onto the American public.

In April, Oscar-winning star Viola Davis said “you either have to be a black female version of a white ideal, or you have to be white” in order to succeed in Hollywood — an industry that claims to be liberal, open-minded, and inclusive.

Last year, filmmaker Shaka King noted that Hollywood distributors have an “incredibly hostile” attitude toward black-led films, assuming they will lose money.

Racism is not the only accusation Hollywood faces from members of its own industry.

Earlier this year, actress Geena Davis blasted Hollywood sexism and ageism, stating that after she had won an Oscar, directors “wanted to make sure I knew my place.”

Actress Emma Thompson has also called out Hollywood’s casting sexism, stating that once a woman passes the age of 50, she becomes “invisible.”

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.