Jessica Feels She's Being 'Picked On'

Jessica Alba is one of many Latinas who do not speak Spanish, however, Jessica feels as if she is being ‘picked on’ for that fact. “No one gives Cameron Diaz a hard time for not speaking Spanish,” says Alba. “Her dad’s Cuban, and I was telling her I feel so bad because everyone is so nasty to me for not speaking Spanish. She’s like, ‘I don’t speak Spanish! I barely speak English!’.”

Wonder what triggered this comment? Well, Alba was apparently turned down for a role in Spike Lee’s 25th Hour after the director said that he is seeking a ‘Latina who speaks Spanish.’ Surprisingly, Lee picked Rosario Dawson for the role although she doesn’t speak any Spanish either… “[Lee] said, ‘We’re going to hire a Latin girl who can speak Spanish,’ and then he hired Rosario. What’s so funny is that I’ve worked with Rosario and she’s like, I don’t speak Spanish.’ I was like, ‘You don’t?’ And she was like, ‘No!’”

Alba adds that such hypocracy in the industry is something she is already used to saying “You know, certain people they want to pick on, and certain people they don’t.”