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Eva Longoria covers the latest issue of Marie Claire, in what was supposed to be a standard promotional piece for Eva’s many projects. Quietly, Eva has become one of the biggest bosses in Hollywood and politics – investor, producer, director, actress, Democratic Party activist and donor, and people only recently learned that she gave the financing to make the first John Wick movie happen. She’s promoting Siete Foods (a billion-dollar food company she invested in, which was just sold), and CNN’s Searching for Spain, which she hosts. The interview is in two halves – one, pre-election, where she’s talking about aging and wellness and business. The second half is post-election, where Eva is talking about politics and the fact that America f–king sucks for “electing” Donald Trump again. Some highlights:
Turning 50: “I’m cold-plunging; I’ve got red lights on; I strength train with weights; I meditate; I’m journaling. I wake up with the sun; I’m doing the grounding; I have an Oura ring to track deep sleep; I’m taking magnesium and other supplements; I’m doing everything. Not because I don’t want to age but because I do want to age. For me, age is just a number, but I’m excited. I refuse to believe my greatest success is behind me.”
Why she was motivated to host CNN’s ‘Searching for Mexico’: “I feel like the strained relationship between us and Mexico needs to be repaired, and I think culture and food can easily celebrate the best things of a country. The people who were screaming, ‘Build that wall!’ are the same people that are going to Taco Tuesday. And I’m like, ‘No, no, no. You don’t get to margarita out and sh-t on the culture that gave you the taco and gave you the margarita. You have to go, ‘This came from there. There must be good things.’”
How she felt after the 2016 election. “I’ve never been depressed in my life,” she recalls. In addition to actual, bodily anguish, she felt serious doubt about convictions that had once felt undeniable. “It was like, ‘Does my vote really matter? Am I really making a difference?’ I was so untethered to the core of what I believe because I truly believed in my soul that the best person wins. And then that happened, and I was like, ‘Oh, wait. The best person doesn’t win.’”
How she feels after the 2024 election: “The shocking part is not that he won. It’s that a convicted criminal who spews so much hate could hold the highest office. I would like to think our fight continues,” she says. But she can’t pretend she knows what’s coming next. The country “is a scary place. If he keeps his promises, it’s going to be a scary place.”
She and her husband José Bastón split their time between Spain and Mexico. Work takes them from Europe to South America and back. The movie and television business is in flux, but the globalization of it at least suits her. Longoria doesn’t tend to shoot in Los Angeles, and she doesn’t miss it. “I had my whole adult life here. But even before [the pandemic], it was changing. The vibe was different. And then Covid happened, and it pushed it over the edge. Whether it’s the homelessness or the taxes, not that I want to sh-t on California—it just feels like this chapter in my life is done now. I’m privileged. I get to escape and go somewhere. Most Americans aren’t so lucky. They’re going to be stuck in this dystopian country, and my anxiety and sadness is for them.”
She had told Democrats to pay attention to the Latino vote. “We’ve been screaming from the highest rooftop that the Latino vote is not something to take for granted. You have to earn it and win it every election cycle.” She is already strategizing how candidates in future elections might reverse the trend. “I want to know how we can communicate that government and politics affects your life, whether you like it or not. Either you participate in that or you let somebody else hold the power.”
The more postmortems I read about the election and the more I see about why people voted for Orangina again, the less I believe it was a messaging problem for the Democrats. I said that hours after Kamala Harris lost Pennsylvania – this is not a candidate problem or a party problem. This is an electorate problem. Unless voters choose to vote in their best interests and the best interests of the country, Dems can’t “message” their way out of it. Tens of millions of Americans knew exactly what was at stake, and they still chose the fascist. As for what she says about being able to escape to Spain or Mexico… lucky lady. The crybaby fascists are trying to make it sound like Eva is storming out of the country because Trump won, but she clearly says that she’s been living in Spain and Mexico for several years already, and that she moved out of California years ago. I also agree with her that this election felt different than 2016.
Cover courtesy of Marie Claire, additional pic courtesy of Avalon Red.
