‘Jane The Virgin’ Star Jaime Camil Criticizes Awards Shows For Ignoring Latinos

“Jane the Virgin” star Jaime Camil, who plays Rogelio De La Vega in The CW series, is done sitting back while the Latino community gets ignored during awards shows such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Camil, who is born in Mexico, does not think it’s fair that Latinos and Latinas get their talents overlooked just because of the color of their skin.

“I think this ‘minority,’ quote-unquote, is the economic engine of this country, basically,” Camil told Slate. “It’s ridiculous right now … Gina Rodriguez and everybody at the show, we were outraged about the fact that SAG-AFTRA and other award shows didn’t nominate one single Latino in their shows. It is not that we want to get an award for free, like, ‘Oh, the poor Latinos, throw them a little bone. Throw them a little award just for them not to feel ignored.’ No, no, no. [Expletive] you. It’s not about that.”

He added that Rodriguez did win a Golden Globe for her role as Jane Gloriana Villanueva back in 2015. But there were no other nominations after that.

“Do you think [Gina] should not be nominated for a SAG-AFTRA award or for a Critics’ Choice or whatever? It’s ridiculous … I mean, ‘Modern Family,’ again, for the 12th year, same nominations? Really? Can’t we move on? Can we look to the other amazing shows that are being created, like ‘One Day at a Time’ with Justina Machado?” he said.

Camil also said that Mexican talents have been highlighted by the Academy Awards for the past two or three years, since they were nominated for Best Director, Best Film, and Best Cinematographer.

But he said there are so many more untapped talent, such as Emmanuel Lubezki, Alejandro González Iñárritu, and Patricia Riggen.

“You have to be awarded if you deserve it, but I truly believe that there are many shows out there and many performers out there, beyond talented performers, that deserve a nomination and deserve to win,” he said.

Camil’s performance this Season 4 of “Jane the Virgin” truly deserves some recognition too, since the telenovela star is taking on a new role - fatherhood.

Rogelio undoubtedly has a big heart, but being a stay-at-home dad is more than he bargained for. “Rogelio is a very loving father, and he loves his family and will do everything for them,” he told Yahoo News. “When you become a father for the first time, it can take time to get used to the dynamics of being a dad. Rogelio will struggle not because of lack of love, but because his life dynamic is so different from being a stay-at-home dad.”

“Jane the Virgin” Season 4 airs Fridays on The CW at 9 p.m. EST.