Robert Downey Jr. Makes Racist Remark About Mexican Director Alejandro G. Iñárritu

First Sean Penn and now Robert Downey Jr.? Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu is once again a victim of racism. In a a recent press tour for the forthcoming sequel "Avengers: Age of Ultron," leading man Downey Jr. made a racist remark about the Latino film director. Before going any further, we can't fail to mention that last October Iñárritu told Deadline that he considers superhero films a "cultural genocide." “The way they apply violence to it, it’s absolutely right-wing,” he said. “If you observe the mentality of most of those films, it’s really about people who are rich, who have power, who will do the good, who will kill the bad. Philosophically, I just don’t like them.”

Downey, who portrays Tony Stark/Iron Man on the Marvel Comics production, was recently asked by The Guardian what his thoughts were about Iñárritu's comments. "Look, I respect the heck out of him," he began. "And I think for a man whose native tongue is Spanish to be able to put together a phrase like 'cultural genocide' just speaks to how bright he is." As the actor's remarks made the rounds, many people on Twitter became outraged. One user was "disappointed," while another one said it was "ignorant."

This isn't the first time the Mexican-born director is a victim of racism. At the 2015 Academy Awards, he was subject of a racist joke told by Sean Penn. Prior to introducing Iñárritu and his film "Birdman" for Best Picture, Penn said, "Who gave this son of a bitch his green card?" Though Iñárritu admitted that Penn is a good friend and he found the comment "hilarious," many Latinos found it rude and unnecessary. The hashtag #PENNdejo even became a trending topic on Twitter.

Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu has not made any statements regarding Robert Downey Jr.'s comment.