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(Photo illustration by De Los; photo by Dania Maxwell \/ Los Angeles Times)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n Diversity has taken a back seat in Hollywood<\/a>, and Eva Longoria is taking notice.<\/p>\n In a recent interview with British publication the Times,<\/a> the 50-year-old actor-director-producer spoke out about the lack of Latino representation on screen.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re severely underrepresented in TV and film and it\u2019s getting worse,\u201d said Longoria. \u201cFive years ago we [made up], like, 7% of TV and film and now we\u2019re 4%. It\u2019s actually going in the wrong direction.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/b> Column: The lack of Latino representation in film is deeper than negligence. It’s intentional exclusion<\/a><\/p>\n According to UCLA\u2019s 2025 Hollywood Diversity Report<\/a>, 1% of Latino performers were leading roles in top theatrical films, while 4.3% of Latino directors and 2.1% of Latino writers were involved in last year’s top films.<\/p>\n The report<\/a>, released in February, found that the proportion of people of color working in entertainment roles dropped in every area from 2023 to 2024 when compared with their white counterparts. Actors of color made up 25.2% of lead roles in the top theatrical films in 2024, which is down from 29.2% in 2023. Also, directors of color accounted for 20.2% of 2024 movies, compared with 22.9% of films from the prior year.<\/p>\n This downward trend has popped up as President Trump has consistently targeted and called to end all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. As a result, much of Hollywood has followed his lead. Paramount Global changed its staffing goals related to gender, race, ethnicity and sex; Warner Bros. Discovery restated its DEI activities as \u201cinclusion<\/a>\u201d; and Walt Disney Co. got rid of<\/a> its \u201cdiversity and inclusion\u201d performance standard used to calculate executive compensation.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is definitely a lot of work to be done. I\u2019m trying to do my part,\u201d Longoria told the Times. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the main reasons I got behind the camera, to create opportunities for women and for people from my community.\u201d<\/p>\n The “Desperate Housewives\u201d actor made her directorial debut in 2023 with “Flamin’ Hot,” a biographical comedy about Richard Monta\u00f1ez, who says he invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.<\/p>\n She\u2019s also currently working on \u201cThe Fifth Wheel,\u201d a Netflix comedy starring Kim Kardashian, which she will direct. As for acting, her latest gig is in \u201cChristmas Karma,\u201d a movie musical released earlier this month, where she plays the Ghost of Christmas Past.<\/p>\n