A few months ago, “Emilia Pérez” seemed like an unstoppable awards season favorite. However, some recently resurfaced social media posts have cast a shadow over the Spanish-language crime drama and musical.
Star Karla Sofía Gascón has faced criticism for several past social media posts that appear to show her making racist and Islamophobic remarks.
In late January, journalist Sarah Hagi shared screenshots of the now-deleted posts, which have not been independently verified by TODAY.com.
Since the posts resurfaced, Gascón deactivated her X account and issued an apology through Netflix.
“I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain,” she said in her statement, according to NBC News. “All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”
She also addressed the backlash in a Feb. 2 CNN Español interview.
“I believe I have been judged, I have been convicted and sacrificed and crucified and stoned without a trial and without the option to defend myself,” she said in Spanish.
Before her past posts resurfaced, Gascón had been front-and-center in the promotion of “Emilia Pérez,” making headlines as the first openly transgender actor to be nominated for a best actress Academy Award.
She was met with applause at the Golden Globes on Jan. 6 when she tearfully accepted an award on behalf of the “Emilia Pérez” cast and crew for best motion picture in the musical or comedy category.
However, she has been absent from more recent awards ceremonies in the lead-up to the Oscars on March 2. She bowed out of the Critics Choice Awards on Feb. 7, where she was nominated for best actress (and lost to Demi Moore for “The Substance”), and she was absent from the Producers Guild Awards and the Directors Guild Awards on Feb. 8.
Gascón has also been quietly removed from promotional materials for the film, with some promo emails and billboards being edited to more heavily feature her co-stars, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Zoe Saldaña was the first of Gascón’s fellow “Emilia Pérez” actors to publicly address the controversy around Gascón’s past posts.
In recent days, co-star Selena Gomez and director Jacques Audiard have also been asked to share their reactions. Here’s how Saldaña, Gomez and Audiard have responded to the backlash so far.
Selena Gomez says ‘some of the magic has disappeared’
Gomez has not commented directly on Gascón’s recently unearthed social media posts.
However, the “Only Murders in the Building” star, 32, appeared to allude to the recent controversies surrounding “Emilia Pérez” during a Q&A at the Santa Barbara Film Festival on Feb. 9.
Asked how she was doing in light of the film being under a “microscope” recently, Gomez replied that she is “good.”
“I’m really good,” she said in a clip of the Q&A shared by The Los Angeles Times. “Some of the magic has disappeared, but I choose to continue to be proud of what I’ve done and I’m just grateful. I live with no regrets and I would do this movie over and over again if I could.”
Gomez has also not commented on a viral tweet that allegedly showed Gascón calling her a “rich rat.”
Gascón denied writing this tweet in a recent interview with CNN Español.
“Of course that’s not mine,” Gascón said. “I have never said anything about my co-star. I would never refer to her that way.”
Zoe Saldaña says she feels ‘sad’ and ‘disappointed’
Saldaña has commented a few times on the recent controversy surrounding Gascón’s past tweets.
During a Jan. 31 Q&A for “Emilia Pérez” in London, the actor said she was “still processing” the backlash from the tweets, which had surfaced the previous day.
“It makes me really sad because I don’t support and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group,” Saldaña said in a video of the panel discussion shared by The Hollywood Reporter.
“It saddens me that we’re having to face this setback right now,” she also said. “But I’m happy that you’re all here and that you’re all still showing up for ‘Emilia’ because the message that this film has is so powerful and the change that it can bring forward to communities that are marginalized day in and day out is important.”
She addressed the controversy a week later on Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast on Feb. 6.
“I’m sad. Time and time again, that’s the word because that is the sentiment that has been living in my chest since everything happened,” Saldaña said. “I’m also disappointed. I can’t speak for other people’s actions. All I can attest to is my experience, and never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here.”
Asked whether it’s possible to separate the legacy of “Emilia Pérez” from the recent backlash to Gascón’s comments, Saldaña said she “will always be a hopeful person.”
“I was not raised to have any negative judgment towards people of any group or any community. So I am against that, I do not support that,” she said. “And, while being that person, I can still stand by a body of work that I can be proud of.”
Saldaña declined to comment on whether she had spoken to Gascón since the fallout.
“I feel like I’ve spoken enough about it and everything else that needs to be said, I’m taking my time to process,” she said. “It’s not just something we have to figure out immediately.”
Director Jacques Audiard calls Gascón ‘self-destructive’
“Emilia Pérez” director Jacques Audiard has shared perhaps the bluntest words of all about Gascón’s resurfaced social media posts.
“Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space, and that makes me very sad. It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía,” he said in a Feb. 5 interview with Deadline.
He mourned recent developments in light of the previous “trust” and “exceptional atmosphere” he said he and Gascón shared while making the film.
“When you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected,” he said. “It’s as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable.”
He was also direct when asked if he had been in touch with Gascón since her past comments emerged.
“I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to. She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why?”
He also shared his frustration about how Gascón’s past actions are affecting her “Emilia Pérez” co-stars.
“I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe and Selena,” he said. “I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us.
“I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions,” he added.
Gascón responded to the director’s comments in an Instagram post.
“Following Jacques (sic) interview that I understand, I decided, for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself, hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference,” she wrote, sharing a cast photo from the Cannes Film Festival.