Salma Hayek: I’ve seen lot of anger at immigrants since Brexit vote

Ever the migrant: Salma Hayek lives in London
Dave Benett
Rashid Razaq2 June 2017

Salma Hayek said she has seen a “lot of anger” towards immigrants in Britain and the US following the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s election even though she has been made to feel “super welcome” after moving to London three years ago.

The actress spoke to the Standard at the Sundance Film Festival: London ahead of the European premiere of her new movie Beatriz At Dinner.

In the film, her Mexican immigrant character stands-up to a brash, billionaire property developer likened to Mr Trump.

Hayek, 50, said she still feels like an immigrant in Britain, but knows she is in a privileged position as a Hollywood star married to French fashion mogul Francois-Henri Pinault, 54, owner of such brands as Gucci and Alexander McQueen.

She said: “I’ve only ever been an immigrant. In Mexico I was Lebanese even though I was born there. But when I came to London I came in a different situation.

“It depends on what kind of immigrant you are. I cannot compare myself to the people who are coming here because they have no other choice.

I felt it super- welcoming, but I do notice that it’s like America, there’s a stronger division. Before there were people that were more in the middle. Now I see there’s a lot of people that definitely do not want immigrants.

“There was definitely a shock that happened when Brexit was voted. And I see a parallel with America.

"There was a lot of anger that was not expressed before... People have been angry and they went for something that wasn’t really explained to them. The same thing with Trump. He never really explained how he was gonna solve all these problems. It was an emotional vote.”

Hayek, who revealed that Mr Trump once pestered her for a date even though he knew she had a boyfriend, has been an outspoken critic of the US President.

She said Beatriz, her character in the film directed by Miguel Arteta, challenges “entitlement” and she felt a parallel to her own life.

The four-day event is an offshoot of Robert Redford’s Sundance Film Festival in Utah and is taking place at the Picturehouse Central on Shaftesbury Avenue.

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