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Jessica Williams and Salma Hayek had a tense conversation about race at Sundance

"I know who I am. I know I’m Jessica, and I’m the hottest bitch on the planet I know."

Martha Tesema

on January 30, 2017

A conversation at the Sundance Film Festival meant to bring together women in film got a little heated last week, when Jessica Williams and Salma Hayek got into a debate regarding race and intersectional feminism.

The LA Times reported on the on-the-record luncheon co-sponsored by Glamour magazine and Girlgaze and people are unhappy with Hayek's and other actresses' remarks.

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Movies from Sundance 2017

The luncheon was meant as a forum for women in film to discuss, network and celebrate accomplishments -- however, according to the Times, things took a turn for the uncomfortable as the topic shifted to the political climate.

Hayek warned those gathered to not "fall into victimization" because of their gender.

"I don’t want to be hired because I’m a girl. I want them to see I’m fabulous. Don’t give me a job because I’m a girl. It’s condescending," Hayek reportedly said, before Shirley MacLaine chimed in and challenged others to uncover their "core identity."

Williams challenged these with her own perspective. “My question is: What if you are a person of color, or a transgendered [sic] person who -- just from how you look -- you already are in a conflict?," she asked. MacLaine then reportedly told her to "change her point of view of being victimized."

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The tense exchange went on, with Hayek encouraging Williams to try to identify as someone other than a black woman.

“Who are you when you’re not black and you’re not a woman?" Hayek said. "Who are you and what have you got to give?”

"A lot. But some days, I’m just black, and I’m just a woman,” Williams responded. “Like, it’s not my choice. I know who I am. I know I’m Jessica, and I’m the hottest bitch on the planet I know."

In response, Hayek (who was born in Mexico) asked Williams to accept identity as a choice.

As Times reporter Amy Kaufman wrote:

Williams, visibly uncomfortable, said she also wanted to encourage all of the women in the room to pay special attention to women of color and LGBT women. “I think we need to not speak over black women,” she said, “not assign them labels.”

“What does this mean, ‘speak over?’” Hayek asked.

“To project your ideas on me,” Williams said. “I think there is a fear that if we present an idea that, ‘Hey, maybe [black women] have it a little bit harder in this country’ -- because we do; black women and trans women do -- if we’re having it a little bit harder, it doesn’t invalidate your experience. I really am begging you to not take it personally.”

The conversation continued with others chiming in to support Williams' point that different women deal with the weight of a wide range of experiences -- and the importance of acknowledging the burdens and experiences of black women through an intersectional framework, not victimization.

The full text, which you can read here, sparked a dialogue on Twitter, particularly from black women who tweeted in support of Williams.

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While neither Hayek or Williams have since made statements regarding the conversation, Williams' pinned tweet from 2015 sums everything up: "I am a black woman and I am a feminist and I am so many things. I am truly honored that people love my work. But I am not yours."

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