Journalist involved in viral interview with Ayo Edebiri and Julia Roberts addresses 'uncomfortable' questioning amid backlash

A journalist has responded to the backlash she faced after being accused of excluding The Bear star Ayo Edebiri from a question about MeToo and Black Lives Matter.

Edebiri is among the cast of Luca Guadagnino's latest movie After the Hunt, also starring Julia Roberts and Andrew Garfield.

The film, which received its world premiere at Venice Film Festival, explores the aftermath of a sexual assault allegation at Yale, with Roberts' character, philosophy professor Alma, struggling to accept that a male colleague (Garfield) assaulted her protégée Maggie (Edebiri).

During a press junket, Italian journalist Federica Polidoro asked the trio of actors what was 'lost during the politically correct era' and what to 'expect in Hollywood after the MeToo movement and the Black Lives Matter are done'.

Ayo Edebiri plays Yale student Maggie in Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt (Sony Pictures)

A confused Roberts said: "With your sunglasses on, I can’t tell which of us you’re talking to."

Polidoro then repeated that the question was for Garfield and Roberts and asked 'if we lost something with the politically correct era'.

The three stars looked shocked, with Garfield barely concealing his uncomfortableness and turning in his chair to look at his co-stars. Edebiri took over, saying the work of the MeToo and BLM movements 'isn't done'.

"I know that that’s not for me, and I don’t know if it’s purposeful if it’s not for me," she said calmly, after seemingly being excluded from the question.

"I don’t think it’s done, I don’t think it’s done at all. Hashtags might not be used as much but I do think that there’s work being done by activists, by people every day that’s beautiful, important work. That’s not finished, that’s really, really active for a reason because this world’s really charged. And that work isn’t finished at all.”

Garfield backed up Edebiri, saying 'both movements are still absolutely alive'.

After the question sparked backlash, Polidoro took to her Instagram to address the controversy in a note, not apologising for the incident.

"Following an interview, I have been subjected to personal insults and attacks because of a question that, for some reason, was not well received by some members of the public," the reporter wrote on social media.

"I find it striking that those who unjustly accuse me of racism and consider themselves custodians of justice find acceptable violent language, personal attacks, and cyberbullying."

She added that people who were focusing on her question and not 'the thoughtful responses of Ayo Edebiri, Julia Roberts, and Andrew Garfield'.

Julia Roberts plays Alma, a conflicted professor who has to confront her past after a colleague is accused of sexual assault (Sony Pictures)

She continued: "I would like to clarify that in my work I have interviewed people of every background and ethnicity, and my own family is multi-ethnic, matriarchal, and feminist, with a significant history of immigration.

"In my view, the real racists are those who see racism everywhere and seek to muzzle journalism, limiting freedom of analysis, critical thinking, and the plurality of perspectives."

Polidoro ended by reserving 'the right to seek legal protection against those who, in recent days, have chosen to hide behind the digital mob to insult and attack me instead of seeking a civil and constructive discussion'.

Guadagnino's movie opened to mixed reviews, currently being at a 51 percent critics score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.