Zendaya has revealed the one quality about Tom Holland she wishes she could steal for herself, and it’s got people talking about gender roles.
The 30-year-old actress gave her husband a sweet compliment during an interview with him, sharing one of the qualities she admires most about the actor, 30.
But not everyone thought he deserved the admiration and dragged an old controversy involving his former co-star out of the closet.
Zendaya revealed one of the qualities that make Tom Holland stand out for her as a partner
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Earlier this year, Zendaya and Tom Holland sat down for an interview with French journalist and video blogger HugoDécrypte.
A clip from the interview resurfaced this week, throwing the Euphoria star’s words under the spotlight.
She discussed what impresses her most about her husband and praised his unwavering respect and kindness to others, even when it comes to standing up for himself.
“Something I am always impressed with Tom about, which I feel like I want to inherit more of, is he’s very…,” she said before Tom interjected with: “Awesome? legendary? Talented?”
“Yeah, so many great words…” she laughed and said, “but you’re a big stickler for respect and kindness.”
“And if that line is crossed, he’s better at drawing boundaries and making things clear,” she continued.
The actress admitted she wanted to be more assertive with setting her boundaries like her husband
Zendaya admitted that she tends to take the opposite approach, often trying to smooth things over rather than directly addressing what’s making her uncomfortable.
“I’m a little bit more like, okay, guys, it’s all right, everything’s all right,” she said, explaining that Holland is much better at making it clear when someone’s behavior is unacceptable.
She also praised her husband for knowing what he considers right and standing firm on those principles, particularly when it comes to protecting the people he cares about.
“You’re good at setting the boundaries really clearly, really strong,” she added.
Her comments struck a chord with many people, who pointed out that women are often more accommodating and less confrontational when someone disrespects them.
“May be related to gender,” one suggested. “Unfortunately, girls are supposed to just go with the flow.”
“100%,” another agreed, saying, “women are definitely socialized to go with the flow more. Glad Z has Tom to enforce her boundaries for her if needed. He seems completely fine with being the bad guy when it comes to crazy fans/paps, etc if it comes to that.”
Fans started a discussion about gender, saying women are expected to keep the peace most of the time
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“When we do set boundaries, we are called difficult or not team players,” another comment said. “Glad he is helping her normalize being assertive and setting healthy boundaries. Love to see it! More love like this please.”
Some critics believed Tom didn’t deserve the praise at all, dragging the controversy about his Romeo & Juliet co-star Francesca Amewudah-Rivers back into the spotlight. They highlighted Tom’s silence when Francesca was facing a wave of racist comments.
Zendaya says there’s one attractive quality about her husband that makes her jealous and impressed
Zendaya: “Something I am always impressed with Tom about, which I feel like I want to inherit more of, is he’s very…
Tom Holland: “Awesome? legendary? talented?”
Zendaya:…
— Trust 🙃 (@LILMICKY011) October 27, 2026
“When his black costar was being called an ape he was quiet,” a critic said.
“I’ve always looked at him different since then… like not a f***ing peep came out of him,” one said.
Another wrote, “This performative sh** has to stop.”
Others defended the Spider-Man star, saying: “Yall only know this man on the internet bro you don’t know sh** he does in private,” one said.
“She’s clearly talking about real-life interactions, not him fighting randoms on social media,” said another.
“W*f is this argument lol he never hops online to defend Zendaya either, and that’s his WIFE,” said another. “These 2 are never online.”
Critics brought up the racist comments that Tom’s co-star Francesca Amewudah-Rivers faced in the past
The criticism appeared to stem from the backlash surrounding Tom’s 2024 West End production of Romeo & Juliet.
Francesca said at the time that she was receiving hate mails and didn’t feel safe playing Juliet in the play, held at the Duke of York’s theatre in the UK.
“There were many days where I didn’t know how I was going to get through it,” she told the Stage. “The flurry of abuse was sustained throughout the whole job. I received death threats, hate mail sent to the theatre. I didn’t feel safe at work.”
The wave of hate led to an open letter being shared in solidarity of the actress.
The letter was signed by more than 800 people, including many black female and non-binary actors like Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Lolly Adefope, Freema Agyeman, Wunmi Mosaku and Tamara Lawrance.
“We’re really praising people for doing the bare minimum and being a decent human being?” one asked online
