Teyana Taylor hits back at criticism that her role in One Battle After Another was “over-sexualized” in a new interview with Vanity Fair. “Another person interviewed me and mentioned something about Perfidia and how people felt like she was overly horny,” Taylor said. Following her Best Supporting Actress win at the Golden Globes, social media erupted with conversations about how Taylor’s win was reminiscent of Halle Berry’s Oscar win for Monster’s Ball (2001). Many felt that Berry only won due to her sex scene with co-star, Billy Bob Thornton.
In a similar vein to Taylor in One Battle After Another, some felt that she received the award only because of her character’s Perfidia Beverly Hills, over-promiscuous and aggressive personality. As well as her explicit sex scenes with co-stars Sean Penn and Leonardo DiCaprio. However, in Taylor’s opinion, that is not the case at all. She continued, “And I’m like, do you realize the first thing we see of Perfidia is her having a gun to a guy’s head, and he calls her ‘sweet thing’? Are you — are we watching the same film?”
“It will never be a moment of judgment,” Taylor Says
In Taylor’s opinion, Perfidia wasn’t a passenger in her own life, but the driver. She was able to weaponize her sexuality against enemies. “Perfidia kind of dived into the, ‘Oh, you think I’m hot? All right, bet,’” she said. “‘Cool if I get to still do what I’m doing, all I gotta do is show you a little titty or something.’”
Teyana maintains that Perfidia is simply trying to survive, and her actions are solely from that place. “It will never be a moment of judgment, because a lot of her mistakes have come from her being in survival mode, dealing with postpartum depression and the title of being a strong woman—a strong Black woman,” Taylor said. “We don’t get the same amount of compassion as everybody else. We don’t get the same amount of grace as everybody else. Everybody just assumes we’re okay.”
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