Colombian actress Sofia Vergara lands in the middle of a controversy over comments her character on “Modern Family” made about Peru.
In Tuesday’s episode of the popular American comedy, Vergara’s on-screen husband said that stealing is legal “maybe in Colombia.” Vergara’s character responded with “Oh, because in Colombia we trip over goats and we kill people in the street? Do you know how offensive that is? Like we’re Peruvians!”
Vergara has received flak for the script, with United States NGO Human Security Association saying, “The material is offensive and discriminatory about the Peruvian community clearly suggesting that Peruvians live in an environment without education and that only live in rural communities and are only dedicated to killing people.”
The actress responded to one comment via Twitter, suggesting that the man who asked her to “clarify” this part of the script that was “unnessarily offensive to Peruvians” should “busquen oficio,” – a phrase which roughly translates as “get a life.”
Vergara has been gaining momentum in Hollywood following her performances in the HBO series “Entourage” and roles in “Chasing Papi” and “Four Brothers.” She also starred on Broadway in the musical “Chicago.”