Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other officials claimed Pretti had brandished a weapon and that agents fired “defensive shots,” assertions that have been contradicted by video evidence showing Pretti holding a phone and not brandishing a gun.
The Trump administration's critics have since called out the hypocrisy of officials who've previously praised armed right-wing protesters but are now attacking Pretti, a legal gun owner with a valid Minnesota concealed-carry permit.
Carlson spoke about her own ordeal:
"I chose to be a bystander and film and knew the best thing I could do was stay by this person's side. ... There were no agents around us until my video started playing and then it started happening so rapidly. There really was not a lot of time." ...
"After the shooting, after Alex was taken away by the ambulance, the amount of ICE agents that were on scene became more aggressive, they started brandishing their weapons, they started pushing the crowd toward 27th [Street] and then they started pulling up the yellow tape line. It was very clear they were starting to treat us like we were rioting."
After taking refuge in an apartment building, Carlson said one of her loved ones called to tell her that the authorities "are looking for you" and "you need to get to safety" because "they're looking for the girl in the pink jacket":
"Everyone's like, 'Hide the jacket! So this amazing woman offered to trade coats with me, offered me a head wrap and anything I needed to disguise myself. I have a local place where all of my community was gathering and all of my neighbors I know were gathering and they just said, 'Just come here now.'"
"I was finally safe and I was able to connect with the ACLU, file my report, give them my video, and that is the testimony you see online today. I haven't been able to go home, I'm not able to use my phones, and I'm unable to drive my car. I had my car moved the other day and somebody was following it; my friend was driving it, I was not there."
Carlson began to cry as she recalled the moment she saw ICE agents murder Pretti:
"When he died, I knew it and I felt like I saw it. It was hard to believe that that would happen in my town, in Minneapolis, that I love so much, and to Renee Good, somebody who was new to the Twin Cities. I'm so proud of being here and I'm so proud of living here and it makes me so mad that people are trying to take that away from us."
"He should have never died. He should have never been murdered."
She added:
"I want all of us to feel more comfortable in coming forward and not be threatened by this administration on this level. The more of us that do that, the less of us are individually at risk. This is a community of brave, courageous people, and I'm just being given an opportunity to represent that."
"I appreciate everything that everybody's doing and it takes all of us to make this a safer community again."
As for her decision to wear a pink jacket that day, Carlson said she made a conscious choice to "be pink and glittery and whatever I choose to be and blow a whistle."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
- YouTube www.youtube.com
Many were struck by Carlson's powerful testimony.
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Carlson told CNN that after she saw ICE agents kill Pretti, she watched them "come over to try to perform some type of medical aid by ripping his clothes open with scissors, and then maneuvering his body around like a rag doll, only to discover that it could be because they wanted to count the bullet wounds to see how many they got, like he’s a deer.”
She said she "knew that this was a moment, and we all have to be brave and we all have to take risks, and we’re all going to be given moments to make that decision."
She said she is "grateful to myself and I’m grateful to anybody who was supportive to me after, to make sure I could get to safety and get that video uploaded to the right people.”
This is especially true when you start to realize that certain people are not the people you thought they were.
Lies are always exposed.
The truth will always come out.
Once you see a person for who they really are, there is no going back.
The best thing to do is save yourself.
Redditor OkEagle160 wanted everyone to reveal why they had to let someone go from their lives, so they asked:
"What’s a reason you slowly stopped liking someone but never told them?"
"They whined too much. If they weren't complaining about something in their own life, it was something in their neighbor's life, or something in the news. I just increasingly tuned them out."
- LucyVialli
Bored Season 5 GIF by The Office Giphy
"I stopped liking them when I realized I couldn't be myself around them anymore. Like I was filtering everything I talked, what I wore, even my laugh. And honestly, that's the loneliest kind of connection."
- cutebogi
"Agreed. I had friends like that; you feel like you can’t be yourself, but you have to put on a mask for them, or else you are judged, made fun of, etc. I hated it and then resented them; they had a whole host of other problems as well. Hope you found better people to spend your time with now."
- TheHoodedWonder
"Their fibs or embellishments to stories they’d tell just got bigger and bigger until they were outright lies. So bad that neither she nor I could even tell what stories were real or fake."
- advgman
"There's no person I can't stand more than the ones that you can't tell if you've ever met the real person. They're always doing some kind of bit, or worse, just straight-up lying or making stuff up, often just to f*ck with you. I just don't interact with those people anymore, instead of trying to understand them."
- BoysNGrlsNAmerica
"Exactly! I just dropped one of my best friends because she cared SO much about what other people thought about her that her life was an entire lie. Because of that, she was obviously so miserable since she isn’t doing stuff she genuinely likes, and nobody knows the real her. So annoying."
- Sure-Context1647
"She only talked about herself."
- Tryna_TGS
"Same. And when I quit playing into it, we stopped talking. Became real clear that she was only interested in talking if we were talking about her."
- Gloomy_Ad5020
"Exact same, ended a friendship over this last year because I realized she wasn't matching my effort at all, and only talked about how great she was all the time. I stopped reaching out, and she just never reached out to me again."
- ThrowRA362665
"When I talk about things that interest me, and they have a look on their face like it’s dumb or weird. They don’t have to be interested in it, but they don’t have to try to make me feel stupid for having an interest."
- PNelley
"I went to visit a friend after she moved into her boyfriend's. I was talking about a band I liked, and she started kind of making fun of me/talking crap about the band. It was only because her boyfriend didn't like it and she wanted to score points with him, or something. I dunno. "
" Funny thing was, she was the one who introduced me to the band a few years before. Like, you might not like them as much anymore, but you used to listen to them all the time. Just because you don't know, doesn't mean you get to sh*t on me for still liking them."
- Dbahnsai
"They were a miserable person. And they wanted everyone around them to be just as miserable all the time."
- StreetAppropriate825
"Misery loves company! I used to work at a homeless shelter, and I saw a lot of trauma bonding and the like, and it never works out, just drags each other down."
- More_Raisin_2894
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"Always bragging for no reason."
- AdmirableSwimming298
"We have one of these jacka**es at work, and I'll never forget the day he was bragging about being able to finance another piece of crap he didn't need, and my other coworker goes, 'Why do you think he gives a sh*t? He's rich,' and the guy finally realized what that expression had been on my face every time. Amused condescension."
- InletUnstart
"Well, we got divorced, so telling them is irrelevant. But I first started feeling like I hated him when I realized he didn't even see me as a friend.'
"It was one thing to lose love (people drift apart, I could have understood that eventually). I will never, ever, forgive the person who I considered to be my best friend for just... not caring about me at all that whole time, apparently? It was such systematic lying, and it made every happy memory I'd ever had with them for a decade into some sort of elaborate rug pull where I was the fool for being stupid enough to believe them."
"Really messed with my brain for a while. Oh well, life goes on."
- cloistered_around
"Their entire personality and life revolved around getting high. Couldn't do anything without having to smoke first, no matter what. Gets real old, real quick."
- Iama_Kokiri_AMA
"Me with my ex but drinking instead. Legit wanted to drink with his friends every weekend and every day, even when he was with me, nothing but constant comments about how he wanted to get so fu**ed uppp and sh*t."
- RoseToyFan123
"Insincere. Everyone was her very best bestie (including people she barely knew), and her response to everything was, 'Omg, SOOO gorgeous, I love you soooooooo much,' but with no sincerity attached to it whatsoever. She also exaggerated a lot and lied about her son’s level of severity regarding his diagnosis, which my son also has, and I can spot those lies from parents like that from a mile away. 20 plus years, and you pick up on the inconsistencies from these parents very quickly."
- Ecstatic_Coast_6702
"They spoke about how much they hated someone and how they're the worst. And then when they're around them, they're the best of friends and talk sh*t about others. Make it make sense.'
- yeah_confucius_1609
Go Away No GIF by BLK Giphy
"One is the people you meet who seem like they're having some difficult breaks in life, and once you get to know them, you realize they are the cause of 95% of their own problems. They may be really good people, too, but I will distance myself once that becomes obvious. Life is hard enough without creating all your own problems, and I got my own to deal with."
- WillBrink
"Sometimes I'm attracted to men who seem very confident and assertive. After a while, though, I often realize that this confidence isn't genuine, but rather a strong need for recognition. Often, these men are actually quite insecure at their core, which wouldn't be so bad in itself – but trying to mask it with boasting usually makes me uncomfortable after some time."
- laralacex
"When I found out she was not the person she had portrayed herself to be. She appeared to be super kind and in a sad position because her daughter had died, and she was suddenly raising her two young granddaughters. So I was very happy to step up and help them out in any way I could. But I discovered she was an accomplished grifter, and she didn’t care about her granddaughters; she was using her situation to get everything she could from everyone willing to help."
- No_Response8442
"Kept flaking on hanging out with me because she'd smoke/get high and just completely not acknowledge that we were supposed to do things like game together."
- CountlessStories
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Those are all valid ghosting reasons.
The truth is, is that most of the people on this list will probably never even notice the absence of the relationship.
It was always about them.
They'll never acknowledge blame, they'll never apologize.
They will just move on to other people.
That is what a succubus does.
They take all they can.
When the well dries up, they slither along to another.
Everyone is better off for walking away.
The controversy erupted after A’zion’s casting was announced, with readers noting that Zoe Gutierrez, the character she was set to play, is described as Mexican and Jewish. Because A’zion is not Mexican, critics argued the role was miscast, a sentiment that quickly spread once it became widely known that the 25-year-old actor, who is white, had been attached to the part.
One viral post (now deleted) crystallized the anger surrounding the decision:
“Casting a white woman to play a Mexican [role] at a time when Latinos in this country are afraid to leave their houses for fear of their government kidnapping them is so gross.”
As the conversation widened, users resurfaced comments from Latina actors about the long-standing difficulty of booking roles in Hollywood. Alexa Demie, who rose to prominence playing Maddy on Euphoria, previously discussed representation during a 2020 appearance on the A24 Podcast.
Demie reflected on her early career and the industry’s narrow casting standards:
“I wasn’t booking anything ever. It was really hard, especially because I feel like a lot of the lead roles I would go out for would go to a blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl. Even for Maddy, I think some people saw her as that… You never see mixed or Latin girl as a lead.”
By Wednesday night, A’zion addressed the controversy directly, announcing via Instagram Stories that she was exiting the project. She explained that she had originally auditioned for a different role and said she had not been fully aware of Zoe’s identity when she accepted the part.
A’zion addressed fans directly in her Instagram statement:
“Guys!! I am with ALL of you and I am NOT doing this movie… F--k that. I’M OUT. lemme make myself clear… THANK YOU guys for bringing this to my attention. I AGREE WITH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU! This is why I love you guys.”
She later clarified that she had not read the novel prior to accepting the role and said she should have paid closer attention to the character’s background.
The actor emphasized her stance on representation and casting integrity:
“I’d never take a role from someone else that’s meant to do it. That SHOULD do it! That’s not me.”
The decision came during a high-profile moment in A’zion’s career. In the 2025 film Marty Supreme, she plays Rachel Mizler, the sharp and fiercely loyal partner-in-crime to Timothée Chalamet’s ping-pong-playing grifter. Her performance in the 1950s-set drama earned her a Best Supporting Actress nomination and helped cement her status as a rising presence in Hollywood.
She has also appeared in the HBO series I Love LA.
You can view her Instagram Stories post below:
@odessaazion/Instagram
@odessaazion/Instagram
@odessaazion/Instagram
Other key roles in Deep Cuts are set to be played by Cailee Spaeny as Percy and Drew Starkey as Joe. The adaptation was previously developed with Saoirse Ronan and Austin Butler attached, though both later exited due to scheduling conflicts.
The timing of A’zion’s casting and subsequent exit amid the current political climate in the United States further intensified the response. Melissa Barrera also issued an impassioned Instagram statement addressing systemic barriers in the industry.
Barrera addressed the historical imbalance in access and opportunity:
“For the longest time the only people that had the access or were given opportunities to create were white people. And so white creators would write stories about white characters (with MAYBE some POC side characters) Makes sense, and no shade to that: people should write about their own experiences. (Also I love white people, some of y’all are really cool.) But yes shade because, unfortunately that meant that POC were shut out of the industry.”
Barrera is currently starring opposite Simu Liu in Peacock’s The Copenhagen Test and has several upcoming projects, including In the Cradle of Granite, The Collaboration, and Renny Harlin’s survival thriller Black Tides.
She concluded her statement with a direct call for accountability in casting:
“So in 2026 if there are 1000 roles out there for actors. And 50 of those are written for Latinos. LATINOS should play them. There SHOULD be more. No doubt. But there aren’t. And until there are and we don’t have to have this conversation. Give Latinos the Latino roles!”
Her Instagram posts can be seen here:
@melissabarreram/Instagram
@melissabarreram/Instagram
Following A’zion’s announcement, many social media users praised her decision to step away from the role, framing it as a rare example of accountability in a casting controversy.
Others used the moment to spotlight Latina actors they believe should be considered for roles like Zoe Gutierrez, sharing casting recommendations and urging studios to prioritize Mexican and Latina talent earlier in the process rather than responding only after backlash.
You can view the reactions to A’zion’s announcement here:
The situation has also drawn comparisons to Jacob Elordi’s casting as Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell’s upcoming adaptation of Wuthering Heights, which sparked similar outrage given the character’s description in Emily Brontë’s original novel.
Amid the debate, more than 100 Latino creatives signed an open letter to Hollywood following the controversy surrounding Deep Cuts.
The letter directly addressed the industry’s decision-making failures:
“Recent casting decisions around the character Zoe Gutierrez in A 24’s ‘Deep Cuts’ have exposed a troubling pattern. We acknowledge and commend Odessa A’zion for listening, reflecting and deciding to exit the project and become an ally. Yet how did this happen?”
The letter calls for increased Latino representation in development, casting, and non-stereotypical leading roles. Its signatories include Eva Longoria, John Leguizamo, Xochitl Gomez, Danny Ramirez, Gina Rodriguez, Gloria Calderon Kellett, Jessica Alba, and others.
