Eva Longoria went into a ‘depression’ following Trump’s election

Eva Longoria has spoken out about President Trump and the Time’s Up movement, stating that she went into a “depression” after Trump was first elected in 2016.

The Desperate Housewives star said that she took a break from politics for around two years following Trump’s election – “I put my head in the sand” – before returning in earnest, adding that “you can’t give up”.

Longoria described the current political mood in the US as “a scary time for Latinos because we’re being villainised”, referencing the separation of children from their parents at the US border as an area in which she wants to focus her attention.

The actor and director, who is set to be the first Latina to direct two Hollywood films in 2020, told The Guardian of her political involvement in helping a more diverse range of people get into government, stating it should “reflect reality, which is people of colour and women.”

Longoria described this endeavour as her “lifelong struggle”.

When asked if she had considered running for Congress, Longoria spoke of the power of ordinary citizens to work towards political change: “People think that in order to create change, you have to be a politician,” she said.

“That’s a myth. You can be anybody. You can be a concerned mother and create significant change. Politicians get their hands tied with the bureaucracy of what comes with being a politician as opposed to speaking their truth and their mind and not being beholden to special interests.”

As a founding member of Time’s Up, a movement formed in January 2018 following the allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Longoria has described its greatest success as beginning a global conversation about inequality in the workplace.

“That’s a big accomplishment to bring it out of the shadows and have somebody in France go: ‘I thought that was just here. That’s happening in Brazil?’ And someone in Brazil going: ‘That’s happening in the United States?’”

Longoria acknowledged the progress that had been made in terms of sexual harassment and discrimination, citing cases against McDonald’s and the FBI, and praising the bravery of women and survivors in coming forward to tell their stories.

In terms of progress in the film industry, Longoria stated that women continue to face “unconscious bias”, with men still selected first over women.

In her role as producer and director, Longoria said she hopes to initiate change by employing a diverse team: “I always start filling up slots with women and people of colour first, then if anything’s left, we will look elsewhere,” she said. “So instead of unconsciously ignoring women or people of colour, I’m consciously hiring them.”