The 76-year-old "Steel Magnolias" actress who most recently starred in "80 for Brady" released on February 3, received her lifetime achievement award during Sunday's ceremony, where she also talked at length about her decades-long career and late actor and "Mrs. Doubtfire" co-star Robin Williams in addition to the remark.
SALLY FIELD SAYS ‘MRS. DOUBTFIRE’ CO-STAR ROBIN WILLIAMS ‘SHOULD BE GROWING OLD LIKE ME’
Honoree Sally Field accepts the SAG Life Achievement Award onstage during the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on February 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Her statement caught wind of commentators on the left and right on Twitter, sparking discussion.
"It should be everyone’s goal in life to be as self-aware as Sally Field," one supporter raved.
"Star Trek" actor George Takei wrote, "She's always been ahead of the curve," while BuzzFeed deputy editorial director Spencer Althouse tweeted, "Sally Field acknowledging her own privilege while accepting her SAG Lifetime Achievement Award…we love to see it!"
Others took the statement to mean Field was apologizing for being White and resorted to criticism.
SALLY FIELD TO RECEIVE SAG LIFETIME ACCHIEVEMENT AWARD: HOW SHE GOT HER BIG BREAK WITH ‘GIDGET'
Sally Field smiled ahead of receiving the Lifetime Achievement award at the 29th annual SAG Awards. (Frazer Harrison)
"I'll never understand apologizing for being white! Sally Field worked her a-- off to become a well known and popular actress not because she was white but because people liked her acting and then she slaps herself and all her fans in the face and apologizes for being white!"
Another said, "@sally_field Love ya but your speech that you had it easier then [sic] most is ridiculous. I see homeless white and black people out there and black people in great schools and big houses. We must stop categorizing people in little boxes based on race."
SALLY FIELD CALLS DOBBS DECISION ‘UNCIVILIZED’ ON ‘THE VIEW’: ‘I THINK IT’S CRIMINAL'
Rita Moreno Jane Fonda, Sally Field, Lily Tomlin showcase their friendship in "80 fro Brady" (Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures)
"There's no exclusivity on hard times for any one race. Have black people been oppressed in our country? Absolutely. Does that mean other races can't struggle or have it hard? Absolutely, not! Cut out the ‘woke’ race-baiting agendas," said a third.
Others echoed the "woke" label while some accused Field of virtue-signaling and slammed her as a "racist" for the remark.
Some critics pledged to never watch another one of her films again.