Michelle Rodriguez made news in June 2017 when she said on social media that she would leave the blockbuster “Fast and Furious” trilogy unless the female characters were given more “love.” Rodriguez has been with the franchise since the beginning, and it turns out she was just as much of a change enforcer on the set of “The Fast and the Furious” in 2001. The actress plays Letty, the girlfriend of Dominic Toretto, played by Vin Diesel. Rodriguez had no intention of playing just a mere girlfriend.

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Fast and Furious franchise, members of the cast sat down with Entertainment Weekly to reminisce on their experiences working on the successful films. Rodriguez, 42, requested rewrites in the first film, The Fast and the Furious, in 2001, because her character lacked the complexity she believed she deserved.

‘When Michelle [Rodriguez] read her role, she was like, “No, I’m not playing that.” And then she changed it completely. It went from a trophy girlfriend to this really layered character,’ her co-star Jordana Brewster (Mia Toretto) said.

“It was a reality check for them to realise that the streets don’t work like that,” Rodriguez said of her desire to flip the script.

“You don’t just get with a guy because he’s hot. There’s a hierarchy there. Can that hot guy get beat up by who you’re dating? If he can, then you don’t date him, because why would you want to lose the hierarchy?”

“In order to keep it real, I had to school them: ‘I know you guys like Hollywood and all that, but if you want it to be realistic, this is how it really works, and I’m not going to be a slut in front of millions of people, so you’re going to lose me if you don’t change this.’ And they figured it out,” she explained.

You’d be mistaken if you assumed the producers were angered by the alterations she insisted on. All of the roles in The Fast and the Furious were written by male screenwriters, according to producer Neal H. Moritz, who appreciated Rodriguez’s opinion on her character. According to Moritz, “It was nice to have that female perspective and really try to dive deep. We wanted everybody to be empowered, whether you were white, Black, Hispanic, male, female, didn’t matter to us.”

“I remember fighting to get a moment where Letty gets into a fight herself,” Rodriguez said, “because I felt like you don’t sit around and let your boys throw down without getting your hands dirty. If you don’t, then are you just there to model? That doesn’t work where I come from.”

In the past, the actress has spoken out against a lack of female representation. When F8 was released on digital platforms in June 2017, the actress lambasted the franchise and vowed to leave.

On Instagram, she commented, “I hope they decide to show some love to the women of the franchise on the next one. Or I just might have to say goodbye to a loved franchise.”

Rodriguez will star in F9, the ninth edition in the Fast and Furious franchise, which will hit cinemas on June 25.

On July 8, Fast & Furious 9 will be released in UK theaters.