Actress Jessica Chastain Says More People Talk About War in Ukraine Than Iran Women’s Rights Because It’s ‘Mostly White People’

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Actress Jessica Chastain claims more people want to talk about the war in Ukraine than the fight for women’s rights in Iran because Ukraine is “mostly white people.”

According to Fox News, Chastain made the comment during a recent interview for Marie Claire where she discussed her career and most recent work in the Showtime miniseries George & Tammy.

The topic came up during the interview as Chastain described her passion for helping women around the world.

“I’m going to say something controversial right now, and I’ve had a margarita, so no one’s stopping me,” she told the magazine.

“I’ve done a lot of press recently, and a lot of people want to talk about Ukraine. But when I bring up Iran, no one wants to talk about that,” she said referencing the fight for women’s rights currently underway in the region.

Marie Claire writer Justine Harman asked Chastain why she believed that to be true.

“I think because it’s a women-led revolution, and I think because Ukraine is mostly white people,” she said bluntly.

The idea of focus on Ukraine being about race has come up in media before, though CNN’s Fareed Zakaria said such criticism misses much broader points.

“I’m fiercely protective of women. To me it is my great fight,” Chastain said. “I use my job to try to celebrate women, but also celebrate women as human beings. Which means, yes, I can play characters that are flawed and do terrible things sometimes. It’s like my job is to constantly remind society that women are human beings.”

Chastain began discussing the issues going on in Iran back in September, following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died in police custody after not wearing her hijab correctly.