Alfonso Cuarón defends Yalitza Aparicio and her family

Over the last few months, the name Yalitza Aparicio has skyrocketed in popularity in Hollywood as well as around the world. Everyone wondered where this woman with the timid smile had come from, and they wished to know more about her origins in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, Mexico. For this reason, many journalists traveled all the way to where her community resides in hopes of getting more details about the life of the Oscar-nominated actress, who's in the running for a Best Actress award.

Some came across what they were looking for – finding the location of the former educator’s family. Soon after, stories about her family and her small community began going viral on social media. Thanks to this, it appears the Roma star’s rise to stardom has not been all roses as it has unintentionally affected the personal lives of those from her community.

Yalitza has kindly asked the media to leave her loved ones out of the press

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Roma director, Alfonso Cuarón, who attended the Director's Guild of America Awards, defended his muse and expressed his discomfort towards some of the journalists who were present at the event. “Just don’t bother Yalitza, Yalitza’s family, that was very uncool. I don’t want to talk about that, I’m just telling you that,” he said.

Alfonso Cuarón came at Yalitza's defense during a film-related event

Several reporters asked Alfonso about his thoughts on Yalitza’s popularity to which he replied, “Well, you’re from the media outlets, don’t ask me, you should know what’s going on, you’re a reporter.”

Just last week, Yalitza herself had asked the media to leave her family out of the news. At a press event, the actress said, “Many people have approached me to say that I’m sending journalists (to her hometown) to bother them and they don’t want that. That said, I just ask that you be careful with the people, for good mannerism, if they say ‘no,’ let’s respect that.”

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In addition, her loved ones sent out a press release in which they ask – in the most polite way – that they leave them alone, and that they please respect the situation they're currently living. 

The message reads: “We’re so proud of Yalitza and we’re profoundly grateful of the tremendous support she’s getting from the press and the public all over the world. But we please ask that you respect our family’s privacy during this very exciting time.”