Available via license: CC BY 4.0
Content may be subject to copyright.
Social Inclusion
2025 •Volume 13 •Arcle 9250
https://doi.org/10.17645/si.9250
ARTICLE Open Access Journal
Hate Speech Directed at Spanish Female Actors: Penélope
Cruz—A Case Study
Lucía Tello Díaz 1and Lizette Martínez‐Valerio 2
1Arts and Social Sciences Department, Universidad Internacional de La Rioja, Spain
2Journalism and Corporate Communication Department, Rey Juan Carlos University, Spain
Correspondence: Lizette Martínez‐Valerio (lizette.martinez@urjc.es)
Submitted: 5 September 2024 Accepted: 17 December 2024 Published: 18 February 2025
Issue: This article is part of the issue “Violence, Hate Speech, and Gender Bias: Challenges to an Inclusive
Digital Environment” edited by Max Römer Pieretti (Universidad Camilo José Cela), Beatriz Esteban‐Ramiro
(Universidad de Castilla‐La Mancha), and Agrivalca Canelón (Universidad Católica Andrés Bello), fully open
access at https://doi.org/10.17645/si.i415
Abstract
Penélope Cruz is one of the most internationally acclaimed Spanish performers. However, despite her
successful career, she is also one of the celebrities subject to most controversy on social media and the most
frequent target of hate speech. Although she does not manage her own profile on X (previously Twitter), her
name and criticism of her are constant on this platform. The objective of this study is to detect possible hate
speech, as well as to categorise it by its intensity and typology. The study analyses the unrestricted
comments on X containing the name Penélope Cruz posted during the period between January and June
2023. The methodology utilised is that of quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the comments
registered (𝑁 = 6,620). One of the chief results is the fact that the majority of the comments classified as
hate speech refer to ideological issues (70.9%) and/or are misogynistic (8.9%), among which are the specific
allusions to her acting skills and her physical characteristics. The results coincide with other studies in which
hate messages directed at actresses are related to their physical appearance. However, they differ in that in
this case the main type of hatred is not misogyny, but ideological hatred. The actor is not only accused of
being a “communist” and a “hypocrite” for her lifestyle, but also for having used her body to succeed in her
profession. Both her physique and intellectual capacity are also subject to hate speech. Most of these
messages are based on conjecture, prejudice, and stereotypes.
Keywords
hate speech; ideological hatred; misogyny; Penélope Cruz; sexism; Spanish cinema; Twitter
© 2025 by the author(s), licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY). 1
1. Introduction
The bias of sexual objectification and reductionism towards a merely objectual perspective has taken root
in the feminine conception of the acting profession. The association between acting and prostitution is not
a new phenomenon since actors have long been related to a dissolute lifestyle. The equating of acting and
prostitution has become so common that a phrase has been coined: “What mother, however dishonest she
may be, would not rather see her daughter in the grave than in the theatre or on stage” (Garcías, 1998, p. 39).
This vision has been transferred to social media, where actresses are frequently the subject of comments in
physical terms, judging their appearance, their clothing, and even their normativity based on their matching up
to the traditional feminine ideal. In contrast to the notion of masculinity, a clear distinction is made between
what it means and implies to be a woman. Sexist language, also observed on these platforms, highlights the
social differences between sexes and establishes the way in which the construction of gender is materialised:
The presence of sexism at the linguistic level did not seem to be a priority in the fight for respect for women’s
rights. However, over the last decade, due to social movements that seek to revendicate women’s position in
society, questions have arisen concerning different areas where they have been discriminated against, abused,
and ostracized. Language is one of those spaces, through which the reality of the speakers is manifested where
discrimination, stereotypes, and gender violence clearly prevail, and therefore it was decided to term this issue
“linguistic sexism” (Corse et al., 2014, p. 141).
An example of the use of this type of language on social media is found in Spain during the 2021 Goya Awards
ceremony. During the gala, despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic, a television presenter recorded a
colleague’s sexist comments (neither his identity nor his profession were disclosed), a colleague who not only
defended his right to judge and classify female actors by their appearance, but also criticized their morality
when referring to one of them as a prostitute. The response was immediate and actresses like Letizia Dolera
expressed their discontent on social media with the idea that a woman was a prostitute solely for wishing
to act: “And once again, blurting out ‘whore’” (Riaño, 2021). However, there were no further repercussions
and only TVE (the Spanish public broadcaster) issued a statement disassociating itself from the comments.
Appearing on the program Hora 25, the journalist and screenwriter Eduardo Galán affirmed that social media
treat men and women differently, which is a reality: “While they insult me by talking about how ‘dumb’ I am,
they insult my wife, Marta Flich, by saying she’s a ‘whore.’ And this always happens. There you can see the
machismo on social media” (Bretos, 2023).
Beyond gender issues, expressions of hatred towards audiovisual professions in Spain are mainly due to
ideological factors. Film workers, particularly actors, are criticised due to a belief that they are affiliated to a
certain political faction, which influences the conceptualisation of their work in certain areas. It is evident
that not all actors share progressive positions; however, the prevailing national mentality considers them
members of left‐wing parties. In fact, one of the topics that generates the greatest contempt on social media
is when an actor reveals his or her ideology:
There is a question that goes further and provides a lot of information about what these characters are
like and what they really think: Who do they vote for?….Voting is secret and, like everything unknown,
excites curiosity. In many cases, people in the public eye try to conceal their ideology. The main reasons
for this may be to avoid being judged or not wanting to influence others with their ideas. (Yaben, 2021)
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 2
Although it is commonly believed that the world of cinema leans to the political left, there are many artists
who have expressed their support for other groupings, such as actors and comedians related with Vox, or
presenters and actors who support PP (People’s Party). In recent times, there have been a large number of
artists who have taken on a political role in the public sphere, including actors in UPyD (Union, Progress and
Democracy), and presenters in Compromís or Ciudadanos (Campos, 2016)—although Spain is marked by a
two‐party system between PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party—progressives) and PP (liberals), it also has
a wide political spectrum that includes national and regional parties. Among them, there are far‐right (Vox),
liberal (Ciudadanos), centre (UPyD), and left‐wing regional groups (Compromís).
Although many actors have felt the need to express their disagreement with politics interfering in the artistic
life of performers, the preconceived idea still prevails: “Culture should be outside of political comings and
goings, it needs freedom and independence to develop itself, it is essential that we can talk about an
autonomous culture” (Campos, 2016).
The conceptualisation of big screen actors as subversive “puppeteers” is one of the most obvious examples of
the ideologization of the profession. The termis used to refer to actors in a derogatory and insulting way. As the
actor Rosana Pastor mentions, “We are all tired of reading about ‘the puppeteers or comedians’ with a highly
pejorative tone” (Campos, 2016). The fact of receiving subsidies has also been used against the film sector.
In reality, most industries in Spain receive subsidies from the government. These include the automotive,
mining, insurance, electrical, food, and construction industries (Gabinete de Estudios Económicos de Axesor,
2013). Even political parties receive funding. Such terms as “subsidised,” “puppeteers,” or “reds” have persisted
in anti‐cinema discourse in Spain over the decades, despite the fact that countries like France allocate six times
more funds to their film industry and Italy offers greater tax incentives to theirs (Álvarez, 2020).
Despite the frequency with which these and other terms are used to generate hate speech against actors
and actresses on social media, the academic world has shown little interest in their study. Sexism has been
identified as a problem in video games, blogs, online forums, and social media (Fox & Tang, 2015; Marwick,
2013; Pedersen & Macafee, 2007; Penny, 2014; Shaw, 2014), but not towards actresses.
Women as targets of hate speech have been the subject of numerous studies. However, some female authors
argue that production of research in this area is scarce, possibly due to the somewhat limited definition of
hate speech in Europe (Kopytowska & Baider, 2017). Hanash (2018) compared cyberbullying of women to
the witch hunts of the 16th and 17th centuries. This case study concludes that self‐censorship is one of
the consequences of the cyberbullying of women. Others have investigated the causes of online misogyny.
The two main components that contribute to the disinhibition of sexist attacks on the internet are anonymity
and the virtualisation of relationships (Fox et al., 2015; Lapidot‐Lefler & Barak, 2012).
Much of the research on social media hatred toward women is based on automation. This is common in
research into hate speech and misogyny (Burnap et al., 2015; Escalante et al., 2017; Fersini et al., 2018;
Justo et al., 2014; Nobata et al., 2016). Some recognise that tools of this type are insufficient due to factors
largely related to language and lack of context (Frenda et al., 2019; Sood et al., 2012). Even rarer are studies
focused on the hate targeted at female celebrities. Some research has focused on the case of the most
important influencers in Spain (Martínez‐Valerio & Mayagoitia‐Soria, 2021). The researchers conclude that
these individuals with their millions of followers have chosen to self‐censor the content they create in order
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 3
to stop receiving hate messages. Most of such messages were related to their ideology or physical
appearance. There are some case studies from other countries of women involved in films. Harassment
campaigns orchestrated from social media against actresses such as the American Leslie Jones (Brojakowski
& Cruz, 2022) or the Indian Parvathy (Karthika, 2022) have been studied, while others have analysed the
messages that the actor, screenwriter, and director Lena Dunham receives for displaying her body and her
illness on Instagram (Ghaffari, 2020). All three received misogynistic messages; Jones also received racist
comments, and Dunham was subject to attacks regarding her body.
As can be seen, in general terms, hate speech is a type of language that aims to be harmful (Davidson et al.,
2017) and constitutes a deliberate, voluntary, and detrimental attack against identity and human dignity. Its
offensive and/or obscene discourse motivates potentially damaging activities and could also lead to illegal
actions such as defamation or fraud (Lamson et al., 2022). This speech diminishes the quality of democracy,
spreading prejudice and intolerance (Said‐Hung et al., 2023). Anonymity, mass communication, and the use
of false identities on social networks are key factors that allow the rise of illicit behaviour, discriminatory
comments, and increasing verbal violence against women (Terrón, 2020). The social networks sphere is used
for verbalizing sexual insinuations, insults, or ridicule expressions led by profiles (mostly male) that amplify
gender inequalities by reproducing stereotypes and spreading misinformation, disinformation, and hate speech
against women (Tarullo et al., 2024).
1.1. Objectives
The general objective of this study is to explore the presence of hate speech directed against the actor
Penélope Cruz on the X platform (formerly Twitter). As specific objectives, the work proposes to:
• Detect hate speech that contains the words “Penélope Cruz.”
• Classify the hate speech detected based on the level of hate and its typology.
• Study the content of the hate messages directed against the actor.
2. Methodology
The research works with the case study of the actor Penélope Cruz through the empirical content analysis of
the posts that contain her name on the X social media platform. The selection of Penélope Cruz as a case study
is due, on the one hand, to the fact that public figures, such as politicians (Piñeiro‐Otero & Martínez‐Rolán,
2021; Sánchez‐Meza et al., 2023; Zamora‐Martínez et al., 2024), actors (Karthika, 2022; Piñeiro‐Otero &
Martínez‐Rolán, 2021), content creators (Martínez‐Valerio & Mayagoitia‐Soria, 2021), etc., are often common
targets of hate messages on social media. On the other hand, previous studies indicate that this particular
actor stands out as a target of hate messages within the Spanish film industry (Martínez‐Valerio & Tello‐Díaz,
2024). Furthermore, Penélope Cruz is the most internationally recognized Spanish actor. She is a renowned
pioneer in Hollywood (Mao, 2019), being the first Spanish woman who won the Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actress (2010). Cruz has received all the European film awards (the BAFTA Award, the Donostia
Award, the Best Female Performance Award at the Cannes Film Festival, the David de Donatello Award, the
Cesar Award, and the Volpi Cup), and has also achieved the Spanish Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts and has
been nominated for the Golden Globe Awards and the European Film Awards more than five times. However,
she is also known for her commitment and closeness to progressive policies, which has implied some conflicts
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 4
with Spanish media (Fernández, 2012). This is a key factor for choosing the actor as representative of hate
speech in social networks.
The messages analysed can originate from various parts of the world and are not limited to Spanish users.
The period of analysis consists of the first half of 2023 (January–June), months during which the most
important film awards ceremonies for this case study take place (Goyas, Oscars, and the Italian David
awards), as well as other notable events attended by the actor (the Met Gala). The final sample included an
analysis of the comments generated in Spanish by all X users during the period explained above using the
keywords “Penelope Cruz” (𝑁 = 6,620). Quantitative content analysis was chosen, said technique allowing
for the objective and systematic study of the content of the tweets (X posts) analysed (Igartua, 2006; Piñuel,
2002), following the compilation of information by automatic download of the comments using the Export
Comments tool.
The choice of X as the social media platform for the study is due to several factors. It is a social medium on
which the influence of micronarratives has increased significantly since its inception and on which users follow
current events (García‐de‐Torres et al., 2011). Moreover, not only has the capacity of the media to disseminate
content increased, but also their ability to perform journalistic tasks. Furthermore, compared to other social
media such as Facebook, it has more active user participation (Aruguete, 2015; Mayo‐Cubero, 2019). Finally,
it is one of the social media with the greatest presence of users linked to both traditional and digital media in
Europe (S. González & Ramos, 2013).
Labelling was carried out separately by the two authors, coinciding in 97.7% of cases. Based on this process,
the content was labelled into the following categories:
• Presence or absence of expressions of hate.
• Type of hate detected based on the vulnerable groups targeted by hate speech (González‐Aguilar et al.,
2023): religious, xenophobic, racist, misogynistic, sexual, ideological, and other.
• Level of intensity of hatred observed on a scale from 0 to 5 following the proposal of De Lucas et al.
(2022):
— Level 0: Messages that use expressions with socially negative connotations. There is no clear
incitement to hatred, but it may be a first step toward encouraging it. E.g., “extreme left”
or “fascist.”
— Level 1: Messages in which there is no verbal violence, but something is presented factually in order
to stigmatise a specific social group.
— Level 2: Messages containing abusive expressions without being insulting; however, they clearly
attribute actions with the intention of spreading a negative image. E.g., “young immigrants
commit crimes.”
— Level 3: Messages with overt verbal violence. E.g., “femi‐nazi,” “fascist,” “moron.”
— Level 4: Messages with veiled or implicit threats. E.g., “I’d better not run into one of those
puppeteers on the street…”
— Level 5: Messages that include a call for physical violence or that express a desire for another to
die or suffer physical harm. E.g., “I hope Covid wipes out all those good‐for‐nothing actors.”
• Presence of a humorous tone within the messages containing expressions of hatred.
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 5
3. Results
Of the 6,620 tweets analysed, 213 were classified as hate speech. That is 3.2% of the total. The majority
of them, 70.9%, have been categorised as hate speech for ideological reasons. The second most common
type is Other, 18.8% of the total. As will be seen later in the qualitative analysis, these messages are mainly
related to her performances as an actor. Next are misogynistic messages, 8.9%. Only three racist messages
were found (0.9%). No messages were found that could be categorised as religious hatred, xenophobia, or
discrimination against a sexual orientation (Figure 1).
Ideology
70.9%
Other
18.8%
Misogyny
8.9%
Racism
0.9%
Figure 1. Categories found within hate speech.
3.1. Hate Speech Based on Ideology
The labelling of ideological messages showed that over half of the tweets are at level 0, which means content
with socially negative connotations (74 tweets, 54.41%). There is also a significant portion corresponding
to level 1 (62 tweets, 45.5%), in which the actor and part of her family are presented in a stigmatising way.
Likewise, a single tweet (0.7%) reaches level 2, that is, it tries to spread a negative image of her and her
family, as well as two tweets (1.4%) reaching level 3 (tweets with overt verbal violence) as broken down below.
Humour is only observed in tweets in 8.08% of cases (11 messages).
Regarding the tweets’ impact, the vast majority of them (91.4%) have fewer than 10 retweets, including the
five most intense messages (those ranging from2 to 4); 5.9% of the tweets had between 10 and 100 retweets;
and 2.6% have between 981 and 2,969. The figures are similar in the number of comments, since 94% of the
tweets analysed got fewer than 10 comments. Also, among them are the tweets with the most intense hatred:
3.3% have between 10 and 100 comments and 2.6% between 199 and 650 comments. These last four tweets
coincide with the most retweeted.
3.1.1. Polical Posioning
The core of the criticism towards Penélope Cruz on social media focuses on her political positioning
(136 tweets), something that is constantly criticised through ideologically tinged messages. A large number
of tweets in this category criticise areas as diverse as her political affiliation (71 tweets), her participation in
an advertising campaign for the airline Fly Emirates (42 tweets), the choice of the hospital where she gave
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 6
birth (39 tweets), her friendship with Pedro Almodóvar and the subsidies for Spanish cinema (27 tweets), or
her position on international politics (11 tweets). All of this, apparently disparate, is integrated into a
generalised criticism of her explicit adherence to progressive actions, substantiated by her support for the
LGTBI community, defence of public healthcare, or opposition to the violence of the Iranian regime; as well
as the continuous recrimination by certain sectors of the X community of actions they consider to be
incoherent. Such criticism supposes a mix of animosity towards her personally, and towards Spanish cinema
in general, as happens with tweets about subsidies and production. This criticism assumes a moderate tone
(“Do Penélope Cruz or Almodóvar share the millions we pay for their films with our taxes?”) but is sometimes
also hostile (“How ridiculous the woman is! Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. That scum only knows how
to make money from the nobodies who go to see their mediocre, subsidised films. Penélope Cruz has
no morals!”).
Another aspect of hate speech towards the actor is determined by the widespread assumption that she
supports communist ideology. There are frequent tweets such as: “Javier Bardem is a communist and so is
Penélope Cruz. They didn’t win the Oscar for being good actors, but because the Academy is infested with
communists: the downfall of the United States”; “For mental health reasons, I’ve gone years without seeing
anything with the shitty communists the Bardems and Penélope Cruz”; “I refuse to watch any Bardem or
Penélope Cruz movies. Bargain‐basement commies”; “Penelope Cruz from Alcobendas? Or is she a
communist? Well, it’s all the same. A commie from Santa Barbara, LA.” This animosity stems from the idea of
hypocrisy that some X users have of the Penélope Cruz who has such an apparent ideology and lives in the
world of cinema, this being one of the commonest criticisms: “Like Bardem and Penélope Cruz who live in
Calcutta in Mother Teresa’s hospice helping selflessly, right? No. But long live the farce.” As can be seen, this
last tweet is highly ironic, despite which, its level of aggression is not tempered, but rather, even more
evident. This is a constant in all the tweets with a certain degree of humour: “Of course, Javier Bardem and
Penélope Cruz live in a slum, right? Yeah, the mask is slipping.”
3.1.2. Public Healthcare and Cedars‐Sinai Medical Center
The actor and her husband, Javier Bardem, became parents with the birth of their first child in January 2011,
the birth taking place in the Cedars‐Sinai Medical Center private clinic in Los Angeles. This centre, founded
by Jews, is frequently confused by X users with the Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, founded by the
New York Jewish community. X users reported the birth, criticising the actor for defending public healthcare
when she herself has chosen a private hospital to give birth. It is worth mentioning that both actors, working
in Hollywood studios, “belong by law to the union and their insurance covers medical expenses one hundred
percent” (R. González, 2011).
Criticism also points to the hospital where she gave birth to her second child, the Ruber International Clinic
in Madrid; the majority of tweets criticising the actor and her husband on this particular point are especially
polarised in two senses: firstly, because both actors defend Spanish public healthcare, and, secondly, because
the American hospital is Jewish‐funded, something that also exacerbates anti‐Semitic comments: “Penelope
Cruz and her husband? The woman who gave birth at Mount Sinai, private, Jewish and in the United States.”
Other tweets hammer away about this: “Penelope Cruz closed a whole floor at Mount Sinai to give birth at
ease. Follow her for more posh‐progressiveness”; “Almodóvar, Bardem, Luis Tosar, Penélope Cruz…and 85%
of left‐wing officials and politicians, who choose private healthcare”; “I guess Javier Barden will go to the
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 7
demonstration, Mount Sinai Hospital, €2,500 a day, where Penélope Cruz gave birth”; or “This socialist who
rented an entire floor of a private hospital so that his wife could have her baby (Penélope Cruz) and they live
in the US, where they don’t pay for the public healthcare that they defend.”
The criticism is extended to the 2023 Goyas’ Gala, where the importance of public healthcare was revindicated,
despite the fact that the private company Quirón Salud Sevilla was the official medical service of the awards.
That fact forced the organisation itself to justify the hiring of two ambulances, since “in such a long a ceremony,
public healthcare personnel could not be used” (Salinas, 2023), although its impact also affected Penélope
Cruz, this being clear in tweets with a patently ironic air: “Thank you for this gala with so many calls for public
healthcare. Our protest event has been sponsored by Salud Quirón, Ruber Internacional, Mount Sinai Hospital,
Pedro Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz.”
3.1.3. Iran and the Fly Emirates Controversy
Another of the axes of ideological criticism of Penélope Cruz is due to the actor’s participation in an
advertising campaign for the Qatari airline Fly Emirates. The ads, directed by Robert Stromberg and
produced by Ridley Scott Associates, feature Penélope Cruz as the face and ambassador of the airline (Fly
Emirates, 2023). This collaboration led to considerable ideological criticism, due to the supposed
incoherence of her position: “Penélope Cruz is very outspoken about feminism and is now an ambassador
for Fly Emirates. Our social elites are so obscenely hypocritical that only a masterpiece of social engineering
explains why there are no massive torchlit marches.”
Qatar’s human rights policies, especially with regard to women’s rights and the LGTBI community, are a
constant in the tweets directed at the actor on this matter: “For those who are still dazzled by Spain’s
progressive artistry, Penélope Cruz advertises Emirates airlines. She’s so feminist, so LGTBI, so communist.
They are all just fakes”; “Fuck the communists of the new false neo‐left. How shameless they are, they’re
pitiful, all for the money”; “How much do you think they paid Penélope Cruz to make that advert?”; “She and
her husband are communists, they curse capitalism, they call big businessmen like Ortega exploiters, but
when push comes to shove, they don’t put anything they preach into practice.”
The actor is also criticised for speaking out against climate change, while she advertises one of the most
polluting modes of transport:
This lady, who boasts of being progressive, is just another elite opportunist. Those who abhor the
extreme right like Penélope Cruz does, but then advertise Qatar airlines. And the poor can’t even drive
a delivery van because they emit CO2. Another “storming of the Bastille”!
This advertisement was also the occasion to rekindle another controversy involving the actor, who appeared
in a video broadcast on social media in October 2022 cutting a lock of her hair to condemn the killing of
Mahsa Amini, the young Kurdish woman arrested for wearing her hijab incorrectly and killed in police
custody (Sahuquillo, 2022). Although the video featured 70 other Spanish and French artists (“Protestas en
Irán,” 2022), only Penélope Cruz became the target of criticism for the amount of hair cut from her fringe,
becoming a meme for her gesture of solidarity (“Penélope Cruz se convierte en un meme,” 2022). This was
highlighted in May 2023 in numerous messages pointing to the inconsistency of supporting Qatar, while
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 8
criticising Iran. A large portion of them take a clearly humorous tone, which does not detract from their
scathing criticism: “Penélope Cruz, who cut her fringe in solidarity with women who suffer repression in the
Middle East, is now the new image of Emirates Airlines”; “One day Penelope Cruz is cutting her bangs in
‘solidarity’ with Iranian women, and the next she’s an Islamic religious police officer, screaming at you
because you’re revealing some flesh”; and even “Penelope Cruz has agreed to cut off some fringe each time
the ad is broadcast.” The criticism becomes denigrating when it moves into religious matters, especially
antisemitic: “Waiting for Penélope Cruz to fix her fringe again….Ah, no…the whole of post‐progressive
showbiz is on all fours offering its ass to Zionism.” And even topics unrelated to the Fly Emirates issue slide
into antisemitism when talking about the couple: “They did the same thing to Penélope Cruz and Javier
Bardem, when they mentioned the invasion of Palestine, the owners of Hollywood, from the self‐chosen
people, made them retract or their careers were over.”
3.2. Misogynistic Hate Speech
The labelling of tweets with misogynistic content (40 tweets) follows the trend of ideological content, with
18.4% of the messages located at level 0 (socially negative connotations), followed by 17 tweets (42%)
corresponding to level 1 (hate speech that stigmatises the actor); four tweets (10%) reach level 2 (abusive
expressions) and one (2.5%) even reaches level 4 (hate speech with veiled or implicit threats), which, given
the nature of this section, implies a considerable degree of risk to the actor. That is, 55% of misogynistic
tweets have stigmatising, abusive, or threatening content. It should be added that all of the inappropriate
tweets are posted by male profiles (as they show in their own messages). Only three of the 40 tweets of a
misogynistic nature offered a humorous‐ridiculing tone, this being the lowest percentage of ironic content of
all the categories analysed (7.5%). Misogynistic tweets have little impact on the number of retweets and
comments. Only 15.8% received retweets (fewer than five retweets each), while 31.6% received comments
(also fewer than five each).
3.2.1. Sexuality, Desire, and Animosity
The most insulting tweets (55%) are aimed at highlighting Penélope Cruz’s physical attributes, not to indicate
the desire she arouses in the commenters, but to recriminate her for the dislike they feel; though they do feel
attracted to the actor: “Penélope Cruz is really daft, but she’s very hot.” There are also those who reproach
her for making them feel aroused: “How difficult it is for me to watch movies with Penélope Cruz because
I can’t stop looking at her tits” or “My 140th hand job was dedicated to Penélope Cruz, the Galician left me
dry as a bone.” And there are even those who express themselves, in sexual terms, contrary to the actor’s
attractiveness: “I wouldn’t even masturbate to Penélope Cruz.”
3.2.2. Talent, Accusaons, and Objeccaon of Her Body
The tone rises when they talk about the actor’s ability to act (10.25%), directly relating her talent to the means
used to reach stardom: “The most frequently seen tits in Spain: Penélope Cruz.” Or extending the criticism
to other actors, such as Aitana Sánchez Gijón: “Crap films that put me to sleep. She turns up in Volavérunt,
some pseudo‐historical bullshit by Bigas Luna. Even though there were some who usually flash the gash, like
Penélope Cruz or Aitana Sánchez Gijón.”
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 9
The insults turn into accusations (five tweets, 12%) alleging the actor lacks talent and has instrumentalised
her body to further her film career: “The thing about Penélope Cruz with all that American crap, lots of people
said at the time it was a stratagem”; “Penelope Cruz. They even gave her an Oscar, she fucked the whole of
Hollywood”; “Penelope Cruz talent? Other things more like”; “This is like Penélope Cruz going to bed with all
the actors she made a movie with when she went to Hollywood.”
Finally, the remaining tweets (three, 7.5%) strive to position the actor as someone volatile and unintelligent:
“She’ll be like Penélope Cruz, given the absence of thoughts, ideas and opinions of her own, she borrows
those of her boyfriends.” As well as utilising casually vulgar expressions of a sexual nature and a certain tone
of humour: “Penelope Cruz, a close friend of mine who I affectionately call ‘penis’ ” or rather “being called
Penélope Cruz is like being called Vagina Martínez Cara.”
3.3. Miscellany of Hatred
The last category of hate speech towards Penélope Cruz (“Other”) is a miscellany of slurs, insults, and
denigrating comments concerning her ability as an actor (33 tweets, 75%), followed by her physical (eight
tweets, 18.2%) and intellectual (five tweets, 11.36%) characteristics. There are also comments of an
ideological‐misogynistic nature regarding her physique (six tweets, 13.6%). Two other messages refer to her
home in the United States and her tax abode (4.5%). Although the majority of comments are level 0, that is,
with socially negative connotations (33), nine tweets are level 1 (stigmatising her and her family) and two are
level 2, aimed at spreading a clear negative image of the actor or, directly, the tweeter’s hatred towards
her, as illustrated by this tweet: “Those of us who hate Penélope Cruz are few, but resistant and we know
we’re right. We’re like brothers and as such we love and support each other.” Regarding the humorous slant
of the tweets, this category is the one with the greatest use of humour, found in six of the 44 tweets (13.6%)
and based, essentially, on a criticism of her ability as an actor. The impact of tweets in this category is
much lower than that of ideological messages. Only one had retweets, two of them. And none of them had
more than 10 comments. Those with greater intensity (levels 2 and 3) had no retweets and only one
comment each.
3.3.1. Cricism of Her Acng
The category that comprises criticisms of her ability as a performer is made up of 33 tweets, which attack
the Madrilenian from various perspectives, the most frequent being her lack of acting skill, her poor choice
of scripts, or her voice. Tweets such as “I try not to hate…but Penélope Cruz is a really bad actor,” “Penelope
Cruz is the worst actress in the world,” or “Penelope Cruz is bad, terrible, a horror as an actor” stand out.
Comparisons are also made between actors: “Eduardo Casanova makes the worst Spanish actor good. Even
Penélope Cruz”; “I wouldn’t hire Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz to do an advert on Canal Cádiz”; or
“Anne Hathaway is not worth a damn (like Penélope Cruz), no matter what they say.”
In addition to these comments, there are others that attack her nominations for the Goya Awards, like
“Penelope Cruz is overrated!!! And you know it!!!!” addressed to the Spanish Film Academy, as well as “How
happy I am every time Penélope Cruz doesn’t win an award” and “Penelope Cruz, despite making, I dunno,
an ad for asparagus, I get the feeling that she gets nominated by decree” also referring to the 2023 Goya
Awards. This last comment goes further:
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 10
Do we have to give an award to all the thick women? Penélope Cruz, Goya for wearing a fucking fake
ass in an Almodóvar film and talking like in all her films, like a redneck. Sofia, wife of a thief just like her,
almost sanctified for wearing horns and swallowing. S.O.B.
This message, in addition to insulting the actor for her acting skills, not only includes both a derogatory
comment towards her husband (calling him a thief) and a misogynistic one, but also ends with an insult
veiled behind the acronym S.O.B., for “son of a bitch.” In fact, in this comment Penélope Cruz is referred to as
“thick,” an insult that is repeated countless times in other comments and to which are added “dumbass”
and “useless.”
3.3.2. Awards, Insults, and Being Over‐Rated
Apart from the above tweets, there is one type of tweet that combines two types of insults. On the one hand,
that of a lack of intellect, and, on the other, that of being a bad actor who wins awards: “And useless Penélope
Cruz winning awards!” or “If a waste of space like Penélope Cruz has won it, Brendan deserves to win it” in
reference to actor Brendan Fraser’s Oscar nomination for The Whale. Equally insulting is the tweet suggesting
that the actor’s Oscar was due to a bribe: “Didn’t Penélope Cruz win the Oscar for best actress for Vicky
Cristina Barcelona? You can buy anything.”
These tweets are completed with a series of comments about the idea of her work being over‐rated:
“Over‐rated Spanish actor. I’ll start: Penélope Cruz”; “Top 3 scandalously over‐rated things: The Beach.
The Little Prince. Penélope Cruz.” To this last comment a thread was added in which, invariably, Penélope
Cruz appears in all the lists: “11 overrated things: 1. Alcohol (all drinks that contain it). 2. Coffee. 3. Cow’s
milk. 4. Penelope Cruz. 5.Tobacco…” There are also those who place the actor on a scale of acting talent:
“I’m currently a firm believer that we send the worst actors we have to Hollywood, because how the fuck
can Ana de Armas and Penélope Cruz [be] there, while Blanca Suárez and Úrsula Corberó are still here.”
3.3.3. Ugliness, Scripts, Screen Actors Guild, and Narraon
The third branch of criticism of the actor is based on aesthetic criteria. In fact, 5% of the tweets refer to her
supposed ugliness: “If she wasn’t pretty, she wouldn’t catch a cold. Now, Penélope Cruz is worse, for example,
even after the plastic surgery she doesn’t do it for me” or “I’m watching a movie where Penélope Cruz appears.
Christ, she’s ugly.” In addition to being unattractive, she is also criticised for her supposed vulgarity: “How can
he kiss that cheap bitch?—Penelope Cruz” or “I don’t like her. I can’t stand Penélope Cruz. I don’t think she’s
pretty. Ana Belén’s pretty.” Another criticism of her beauty and elegance is to be found in the tweets related
to her presence on the red carpet at the Goyas, going so far as to say “Penelope Cruz must use up all her
glamour in Hollywood, because in the interview on RTVE at the #Goya2023 she looks like a blinged‐up DIA
cashier (nothing against supermarket cashiers, lots of them are glamourous university students).”
Finally, the actor is constantly insulted as a representative of the union, as portrayed in tweets such as the
one below, which combines animosity towards the profession, towards Spanish cinema, towards the marriage
of Cruz and Bardem, and towards left‐wing ideology: “Nobody goes to the movies to see actors as crummy
as those in Spain today. Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz are the best examples, a long, long way from the
golden age of Spanish and North American cinema. Vulgar lefties.”
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 11
There are also tweets that allude to the poor quality of the actor’s films: “Has Penélope Cruz made a single
good film?” Or her limited skills at narrating films, this in reference to her dubbing of the documentaryNuestro
Planeta: “If you have trouble getting to sleep, I strongly recommend you watch the documentary series Nuestro
Planeta, narrated by Penélope Cruz. You could probably be more anodyne, but it’d be difficult” or “With the
number of good voice actors there are in this country…whoever had the disastrous idea of putting Penélope
Cruz as the narrator…it couldn’t be done worse.”
4. Discussion and Conclusions
It has been clarified that hate speech is not only a harmful manner of communication, but also the expression
of discriminative ideals referred to a person (or group) based on the conviction of superiority. Comments
against Penélope Cruz on the X social media platform represent hate speech because they offend Cruz while
unfolding ideological misogynistic content against her. The tweets are not based on specific events or proven
facts, but rather on conjecture, prejudice, and stereotypes, calling into question the actor’s talent and the
decisions she makes regarding her way of life or her own body. The results show that the comments directed
towards her go beyond mere opinion, entering the realm of insult and contempt. Despite the scarcity and
satirical intention of some tweets of a humorous or ironic nature, these are every bit as humiliating as the
more direct comments.
This study coincides with others (Martínez‐Valerio, 2021) in pointing out the difficulty of classifying content,
especially if it is done exclusively by means of software. Although there are automatic language detection tools
for the study of hate speech (Amores et al., 2021; Blanco, 2021; Felipe, 2020), on many occasions machines
may have difficulty interpreting the comments made; an example would be the use of emoticons. Additionally,
some users write ironically, so a comment that is actually favourable may be classified as unfavourable and
vice versa. Therefore, it is essential to highlight the importance of continuing to work on methodologies that
employ technological advances in linguistic analysis hand‐in‐hand with human knowledge.
The objective of this study was to explore the presence of hate speech directed at the actor Penélope Cruz
on the social media platform X. After analysing 6,620 comments, it is concluded that hate speech is only
present in 3.2% of the posts in which the actor is mentioned and mostly appears in its least harmful form
on the scale of possible manifestations of hate speech (levels 0 and 1). The rest of the analysed comments
could be considered criticism according to the definition of hate speech cited in the introductory part of
this work. The percentage is very similar to that found in other studies focused on individuals related to the
film industry, regardless of their gender (Martínez‐Valerio & Tello‐Díaz, 2024). Observing the classification of
hate speech detected based on typology, the commonest kind of hate was ideological (70.9%), within which
different aspects were detected, as was the case in the category “Other” (18.8%). Misogynistic messages were
the third most common type (8.9%), in which she is accused of using her body to get ahead and of buying
votes in the awards she has received. In addition to the illicit means attributed to her in her rise to stardom,
her intelligence, beauty, acting talent, and way of thinking are also called into question. These results coincide
with the messages analysed in the work of Brojakowski and Cruz (2022) and Karthika (2022). The first study
examines the case of hate messages directed at the American actress Leslie Jones. Most of these messages
were misogynistic or racist in nature. In the second case, that of the Indian actress Parvathy, the analysed
messages were predominantly misogynistic. In the case of Penélope Cruz, some even question whether her
ideology is her own, arguing that her opinions have been acquired by living with Javier Bardem, doubting her
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 12
intellectual capacity to make political decisions. This infantilisation or need for guardianship by her husband
is also supposedly shown when judging the place and the way in which the actor gave birth to her children.
Users of X claim Javier Bardem made the choice of and paid for the American hospital where their eldest child
was born, denying the mother’s agency to decide, contract, or pay for herself.
Apart from her personal qualities, the figure of Penélope Cruz is a focal point for the criticism that extends
to the entire acting profession, her name appearing even when the news, comment, or criticism had another
protagonist. This also happens when the actors’ union, or any of its members, takes a political stance, citing
the actor in critical comments, despite her neither being present nor participating in the relevant act or
event. Moreover, all of this is taken to reveal supposed ideological incoherence on the part of the actor who,
without publicly expressing herself in the way that some of her colleagues have done, is systematically
accused of communism, reproaching her for the paradox of having progressive ideas and a comfortable
lifestyle. The intersection between ideological hate and misogyny is a particularity of this Spanish case study.
Other research has found different types of intersections, with the most frequent being between misogyny
and racism (Brojakowski & Cruz, 2022; López, 2022). However, considering the politicization present in
various areas of Spanish society, from sports (Bueno, 2013) to the Covid‐19 pandemic (Herrero et al., 2024),
it is not surprising that ideological hate intersects with misogyny and even extends to other actors
beyond gender.
In short, the confusion between freedom of expression on one hand and defamatory and humiliating excesses
on the other should be a priority for a platform which encourages public debate and the expression of opinions.
Hence the importance of detecting and analysing comments in the absence of an authority that protects
against insults and accusations, ensures the well‐being of users, monitors the rise of hate speech, and applies
a certain sense of proportion. It would be of interest to carry out future research in which hate speech against
female Spanish actors is compared with that received by their peers from other countries, chiefly in order to
analyse the ideological component detected in this case study.
Funding
This article is part of the project Taxonomy, Presence and Intensity of Hate Expressions in Digital Environments
Linked to Spanish Professional News Media (PID2020‐114584GB‐I00, Ministry of Science and Innovation).
Conflict of Interests
The authors declare no conflict of interests.
References
Álvarez, R. (2020, February 2). ¿Qué ayudas recibe el cine español y por qué está subvencionado? Newtral.
https://www.newtral.es/que‐ayudas‐recibe‐el‐cine‐espanol‐por‐que‐esta‐subvencionado/20200202
Amores, J., Blanco‐Herrero, D., Sánchez‐Holgado, P., & Frías‐Vázquez, M. (2021). Detectando el odio
ideológico en Twitter. Desarrollo y evaluación de un detector de discurso de odio por ideología política en
tuits en español. Cuadernos.info,49, 98–124. https://dx.doi.org/10.7764/cdi.49.27817
Aruguete, N. (2015). El poder de la agenda. Política, medios y público. Biblos.
Blanco, R. (2021). Identificación de lenguaje misógino a partir de minería de textos en redes sociales [Unpublished
master’s thesis]. Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia. https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14468/
14234
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 13
Brojakowski, B., & Cruz, G. A. (2022). Busting trolls: Examining the hate campaign against actress Leslie Jones.
In L. Cuklanz (Ed.), Gender violence, social media, and online environments (pp. 76–93). Routledge.
Bueno, J. G. (2013). La politización del deporte en los medios escritos especializados. Razón y Palabra,17(3_84),
602–617.
Burnap, P., Rana, O. F., Avis, N., Williams, M., Housley, W., Edwards, A., Morgan, J., & Sloan, L. (2015). Detecting
tension in online communities with computational Twitter analysis. Technological Forecasting and Social
Change,95, 96–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.04.013
Campos, P. (2016, December 14). ¿Es tan de izquierdas el cine español? Cara a cara entre los
diputados actores. El Confidencial.https://www.elconfidencial.com/cultura/2016‐12‐14/rosana‐pastor‐
felix‐alvarez‐felisuco‐congreso‐actores‐diputados_1299677
Corse, E. R., León, N. N., Patiño, B. X., Rocabado, C. E., Sosa, M. A., & Ventura, E. A. (2014). Sexismo lingüístico y
estereotipos de género manifestados en el uso del lenguaje en redes sociales por la comunidad estudiantil
de LAEL. Kipus Científicus,1(1), 139–165.
Davidson, T., Warmsley, D., Macy, M., & Weber, I. (2017). Automated hate speech detection and the problem
of offensive language. Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media,11(1),
512–515.
De Lucas, V. A., Römer, M., Izquierdo‐Alegría, D., Montero‐Díaz, J., & Said‐Hung, E. (2022). Manual para el
etiquetado de mensaje de odio en medios digitales en España. Gobierno de España, Ministerio de Ciencia e
Innovación. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.18316313
Escalante, H. J., Villatoro‐Tello, E., Garza, S. E., López‐Monroy, A. P., Montes‐y‐Gómez, M., &
Villaseñor‐Pineda, L. (2017). Early detection of deception and aggressiveness using profile‐based
representations. Expert Systems With Applications,89, 99–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2017.07.
040
Felipe, P. (2020). Detección de discurso de odio en redes sociales [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Universidad del
País Vasco. http://hdl.handle.net/10810/48827
Fernández, L. (2012, May 17). Javier Bardem se reconcilia con sus ‘enemigos’ de la prensa. Vanitatis.
El Confidencial.https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/noticias/2012‐05‐17/javier‐bardem‐se‐
reconcilia‐con‐sus‐enemigos‐de‐la‐prensa_398849
Fersini, F., Rosso, P., & Anzovino, M. (2018). Overview of the task on automatic misogyny identification at
IberEval 2018. In P. Rosso, J. Gonzalo, R. Martínez, S. Montalvo, & J. Carrillo de Albornoz (Eds.), Proceedings
of the Third Workshop on Evaluation of Human Language Technologies for Iberian Languages (pp. 214–228).
CEUR‐WS.
Fly Emirates. (2023, May 25). Emirates nombra a Penélope Cruz como su nueva embajadora de marca
[Press release]. https://www.emirates.com/media‐centre/es/emirates‐nombra‐a‐penelope‐cruz‐como‐
su‐nueva‐embajadora‐de‐marca
Fox, J., Cruz, C., & Lee, J. Y. (2015). Perpetuating online sexism offline: Anonymity, interactivity, and the effects
of sexist hashtags on social media. Computers in Human Behavior,52, 436–442. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.chb.2015.06.024
Fox, J., & Tang, W. Y. (2015, May 21‐25). Women’s experiences with harassment in online video games: Rumination,
organizational responsiveness, withdrawal, and coping strategies [Paper presentation]. 65th Annual
Conference of the International Communication Association, San Juan, PR, United States.
Frenda, S., Ghanemb, B., Montes‐y‐Gómez, M., & Rosso, P. (2019). Online hate speech against women:
Automatic identification of misogyny and sexism on Twitter. Journal of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems,36(5),
4743–4752. https://doi.org/10.3233/JIFS‐179023
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 14
Gabinete de Estudios Económicos de Axesor. (2013, July 30). Las empresas más subvencionadas en
España. Axesor.https://www.axesor.es/blog/post/2013/07/30/Las‐empresas‐mas‐subvencionadas‐de‐
Espana.aspx
Bretos, A. (Host). (2023, February 3). Aimar Bretos entrevista al escritor y guionista, fundador de la revista
‘Mongolia.’ [Podcast Episode]. In Hora veinticinco.https://cadenaser.com/audio/1675454909235
García‐de‐Torres, E., Yezers’ Ka, L., Rost, A., Calderín, M., Edo, C., Rojano, M., & Corredoira, L. (2011). Uso de
Twitter y Facebook por los medios iberoamericanos. Profesional de la Información,20(6), 611–620.
Garcías, D. (1998). Antonio Jordada y su Tratado contra las comedias (1788).Grama Y Cal: Revista Insular de
Filología,2, 35‐48. https://raco.cat/index.php/GramayCal/article/view/6586
Ghaffari, S. (2020). Discourses of celebrities on Instagram: Digital femininity, self‐representation and hate
speech. Critical Discourse Studies,19(2), 161–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405904.2020.1839923
González, R. (2011, January 26). El parto millonario de Penélope Cruz. La Razón.https://www.larazon.es/
historico/2240‐penelope‐y‐javier‐padres‐NLLA_RAZON_355127
González, S., & Ramos, F. (2013). El uso periodístico de Facebook y Twitter: Un análisis comparativo de
la experiencia europea. Historia y Comunicación Social,18, 419–433. https://doi.org/10.5209/rev_HICS.
2013.v18.44253
González‐Aguilar, J., Segado‐Boj, F., & Makhortykh, M. (2023). Populist right parties on TikTok:
Spectacularization, personalization, and hate speech. Media and Communication,11(2), 232–240. https://
doi.org/10.17645/mac.v11i2.6358
Hanash, M. (2018). Disciplinamiento sexual: Cazando brujas y ciberfeministas. Investigación y género.
Reflexiones desde la investigación para avanzar en igualdad. In I. Vázquez, M. J. Cala, A. Guil, C. García‐Gil,
R. Martínez, & C. Flecha (Eds.), VII Congreso Universitario Internacional Investigación y Género (pp. 339–350).
SIEMUS.
Herrero, D. B., Calderón, C. A., & Torrealba, M. T. (2024). Pandemia, politización y odio: Características de la
desinformación en España. Estudios Sobre el Mensaje Periodistico,30(3), 503–515. https://doi.org/10.5209/
emp.96593
Igartua, J. J. (2006). Métodos cuantitativos de investigación en comunicación. Bosch.
Justo, R., Corcoran, T., Lukin, S. M., Walker, M., & Torres, M. I. (2014). Extracting relevant knowledge for the
detection of sarcasm and nastiness in the social web. Knowledge‐Based Systems,69, 124–133. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.knosys.2014.05.021
Karthika, C. (2022). Cyberbullying on celebrities: A case study on actress Parvathy. AIP Conference Proceedings,
2463(1), Article 020036.
Kopytowska, M., & Baider, F. (2017). From stereotypes and prejudice to verbal and physical violence: Hate
speech in context. Lodz Papers in Pragmatics,13(2), 133–152. https://doi.org/10.1515/lpp‐2017‐0008
Lamson, A., De Souza, L., & Martinez, A. (2022). Freedom of speech and hate speech: An American perspective.
Revista de Direitos e Garantias Fundamentais,23(2), 31–56. https://doi.org/10.18759/rdgf.v23i2.2029
Lapidot‐Lefler, N., & Barak, A. (2012). Effects of anonymity, invisibility, and lack of eye‐contact on toxic online
disinhibition. Computers in Human Behavior,28(2), 434–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2011.10.014
López, Y. (2022). Exploring narratives of hate and solidarity on social media: The case of Yalitza Aparicio.
Interculture Journal: Online‐Zeitschrift für interkulturelle Studien,21(36), 107–127. https://nbn‐resolving.
org/urn:nbn:de:0168‐ssoar‐80117‐9
Mao, L. (2019). Rhetoric, cultural identity and intercultural communication in the film: China and Spain in the
comparison between the Chinese director Zhang Yimou and the Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar [Unpublished
doctoral dissertation]. Universidad de León.
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 15
Martínez‐Valerio, L. (2021). Mensajes de odio hacia la comunidad LGTBIQ+: Análisis de los perfiles de
Instagram de la prensa española durante la “Semana del Orgullo.” Revista Latina de Comunicación Social,
80, 363–388. https://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS‐2022‐1749
Martínez‐Valerio, L., & Mayagoitia‐Soria, A. M. (2021). Influencers y mensajes de odio: Jóvenes y consumo de
contenidos autocensurados. Revista Prisma Social,34, 4–39.
Martínez‐Valerio, L., & Tello‐Díaz, L. (2024). Discursos de odio dirigidos a la industria cinematográfica española.
In A. Moreno‐Delgado, E. Said‐Hung, & M. Römer (Eds.), Expresiones de odio en entornos digitales españoles
(pp. 169–192). Tirant Humanidades.
Marwick, A. (2013). Gender, sexuality, and social media. In T. Senft & J. Hunsinger (Eds.), The social media
handbook (pp. 59–75). Routledge.
Mayo‐Cubero, M. (2019). Uso de las redes sociales en la cobertura periodística de crisis, desastres y
emergencias en España. Revista Española de Comunicación en Salud,2019(Suppl. 1), 43–54. https://doi.org/
10.20318/recs.2019.4428
Nobata, C., Tetreault, J., Thomas, A., Mehdad, Y., & Chang, Y. (2016). Abusive language detection in online user
content. In J. Bourdeau, J. A. Hendler, & R. Nkambou (Eds.), Proceedings of the 25th International Conference
on World Wide Web (pp. 145–153). International World Wide Web Conferences Steering Committee of the
Republic and Canton of Geneva.
Pedersen, S., & Macafee, C. (2007). Gender differences in British blogging. Journal of Computer‐Mediated
Communication,12(4), 1472–1492. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083‐6101.2007.00382.x
Penélope Cruz se convierte en un meme tras cortarse el flequillo por las mujeres iraníes. (2022,
October 9). Faro de Vigo.https://www.farodevigo.es/vida‐y‐estilo/gente/2022/10/09/penelope‐cruz‐
convierte‐meme‐cortarse‐77014153.html
Penny, L. (2014). Unspeakable things: Sex, lies, and revolution. Bloomsbury.
Piñeiro‐Otero, T., & Martínez‐Rolán, X. (2021). Eso no me lo dices en la calle. Análisis del discurso del
odio contra las mujeres en Twitter. Profesional de la Información,30(5), Article e300502. https://doi.org/
10.3145/epi.2021.sep.02
Piñuel, J. L. (2002). Epistemología, metodología y técnicas del análisis de contenido. Estudios de Sociolinguistica:
Linguas, Sociedades e Culturas,3(1), 1–42.
Protestas en Irán. Las actrices españolas se cortan el pelo para sumarse a la ola de solidaridad con
las mujeres iraníes. (2022, October 7). RTVE.https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20221007/iran‐actrices‐
espanolas‐suman‐solidaridad‐mujeres‐iranies/2405486.shtml
Riaño, R. (2021, March 7). Los insultos machistas que recibieron las actrices en los Goya: Comunicado de
TVE. Vanitatis. El Confidencial.https://www.vanitatis.elconfidencial.com/famosos/2021‐03‐07/insultos‐
actrices‐premios‐goya‐2021_2981331
Sahuquillo, M. R. (2022, October 19). Mahsa Amini, cuya muerte bajo custodia policial en Irán prendió las
protestas por la libertad, premio Sájarov del Parlamento Europeo.El País. https://elpais.com/internacional/
2023‐10‐19/mahsa‐amini‐cuya‐muerte‐bajo‐custodia‐policial‐en‐iran‐prendio‐las‐protestas‐por‐la‐
libertad‐premio‐sajarov‐del‐parlamento‐europeo.html
Said‐Hung, E. M., Merino‐Arribas, M., & Sánchez‐Esparza, M. (2023). Polarización, desinformación y
expresiones de odio en Twitter. Caso grupos políticos nacionalistas e independentistas en España.
Observatorio (OBS*),17(2), 52–80. https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS17220232179
Salinas, N. (2023, February 14). La Academia de Cine elude la polémica y justifica que solo contrató a dos
ambulancias privadas para los Goya. El periódico de España.https://www.epe.es/es/sanidad/20230214/
academia‐cine‐elude‐polemica‐justifica‐82945241
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 16
Sánchez‐Meza, M., Schlesier‐Corrales, L., Visa‐Barbosa, M., & Carnicé‐Mur, M. (2023). ¿De redes sociales a
redes del odio? Análisis de la conversación digital en Twitter sobre la ministra de Igualdad española Irene
Montero. Estudios Sobre el Mensaje Periodístico,29(3), 717–736. https://doi.org/10.5209/esmp.87271
Shaw, A. (2014). The internet is full of jerks, because the world is full of jerks: What feminist theory teaches us
about the internet. Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies,11(3), 273–277. http://doi.org/10.1080/
14791420.2014.926245
Sood, S., Antin, J., & Churchill, E. (2012). Profanity use in online communities. In J. Konstan, E. Chi, & K. Höök
(Eds.), Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (pp. 1481–1490).
Association for Computing Machinery.
Tarullo, R., Calvo, D., & Iranzo‐Cabrera, M. (2024). #Feminazis on Instagram: Hate speech and misinformation,
the ongoing discourse for enlarging the manosphere. KOME,12(2), 91–110. https://doi.org/10.17646/
KOME.of.18
Terrón, A. (2020). Putas, histéricas y maricones: Violencia de género en reseñas cinematográficas publicadas
online por españoles. Ambigua: Revista de Investigaciones Sobre Género y Estudios Culturales,7, 333–353.
Yaben, M. (2021, April 22). De Rosalía a Cristina Pedroche: Los famosos españoles que ‘se mojan’ en política.
El Independiente.https://www.elindependiente.com/gente/2021/04/22/de‐rosalia‐a‐cristina‐pedroche‐
los‐famosos‐espanoles‐que‐se‐mojan‐en‐politica
Zamora‐Martínez, P., Gascón‐Vera, P., & Gómez García, S. (2024). El discurso de odio hacia las candidatas a la
Comunidad de Madrid 2023, sesgo de género y virulencia. ICONO 14,22(1), Article e2079. https://doi.org/
10.7195/ri14.v22i1.2079
About the Authors
Lucía Tello Díaz (PhD in information sciences from the UCM) is the coordinator of the MA in
advanced film studies at the UNIR and lecturer in audiovisual communication. She teaches
courses in scriptwriting for television and films at the MA in scriptwriting (UNIR), and film
history at the ECAM. She is a director and a scriptwriter of documentary and feature
film and has premiered her film Endless Cinema (2019) at the SEMINCI, and at the
Buenos Aires International Film Festival. She collaborates with national and international
television channels.
Lizee Marnez‐Valerio is a graduate in journalism from the Complutense University of
Madrid (UCM) with a cum laude European doctorate in information sciences from the
UCM. She has been deemed a specialist in applied social research and data analysis by
the CIS, and has been a professor (February 2016–February 2020) and director of the
master in investigative journalism, data and visualization (December 2018–February 2020)
at UNIR. She is now a full professor at Rey Juan Carlos University (since September 2019).
Her research areasare (a) social networks and young people and (b) the history of television
in Spain.
Social Inclusion •2025 •Volume 13 •Article 9250 17
