Actress Cate Blanchett said Tuesday if she were ever given the opportunity to portray first lady Melania Trump on screen, she would play the role with "warts and all" and not from the perspective of the "Free Melania" campaign.
"When I'm playing a character I think you have to present people warts and all," Blanchett said during an appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to discuss the plight of refugees, according to Reuters.
“If I was playing Melania Trump — not that I would probably be cast in that role — I wouldn’t be necessarily coming from the place of ‘Free Melania,'” the Australian actress continued, to laughs from the crowd. “I’d be trying to understand the situation so that you could then throw that back at an audience and say: ‘What’s her position as a woman? What does she think? What’s it like being married to — you know.'”
Blanchett was at the forum in her capacity as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
The "Free Melania" hashtag went viral after President Trump's inauguration in January 2017 when Melania Trump was captured on camera smiling while the president was glancing at her during the ceremony and then looking forlorn as soon as he turned the other way.
Earlier in the on-stage interview Blanchett condemned the Trump administration for its lack of political leadership on the matter, per Reuters.
She, along with British singer-songwriter Elton John and Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, were honored with the summit's annual Crystal Award Monday night for their commitment to human rights.
President Trump is due to address the forum Friday.
