Michelle Rodriguez Threatens To Quit ‘Fast & Furious’ Movies Over Treatment Of Women

Michelle Rodriguez threatened to leave the Fast and the Furious movies unless the franchise improves its treatment of women.

MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ THREATENS TO QUIT FAST AND THE FURIOUS OVER TREATMENT OF WOMEN

The actress plays Letty Ortiz in the street racing series, and took to Instagram to air her complaint. “F8 is out digitally today, I hope they decide to show some love to the women of the franchise on the next one,” she wrote in an Instagram post. “Or I just might have to say goodbye to a loved franchise. It’s been a good ride & Im grateful for the opportunity the fans & studio have provided over the years… One Love ??❤️???✨???.”

While the films have introduced more female characters over the years, it is still a heavily male-dominated franchise. And the women are often killed off at points, including Rodriguez herself, though they managed to bring her character back. Gal Gadot‘s and Elsa Pataky‘s characters also met their demise in the previous few installments.

Original cast member Jordana Brewster was not invited to appear in The Fate of the Furious, saying, “it wasn’t a choice. I didn’t say goodbye.” In May, Rodriguez spoke about working with Brewster and hwo few lines they shared. “I’ve been making movies with Jordana, who plays the sister of Dom Toretto, for 16 years and I can count on one hand how many lines I’ve had to her.”

Rodriguez would like to see female cast members given more roles and responsibilities in the films, instead of being just eye candy. “At the end of the day, the only leverage I have as an individual is my participation,” she said. She’s been fighting for individual characters from day one on set and doesn’t plan on stopping. “I’m not hard to work with,” she explained. “I just demand a certain level of respect.”