‘Emilia Pérez’ Star Karla Sofía Gascón Insists She’s ‘Not Racist’ Amid Controversy Over Old Tweets

Karla Sofía Gascón in the Netflix film Emilia Pérez (Credit: Netflix)

Karla Sofía Gascón, the Oscar-nominated star of Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, has launched a tear-filled apology tour after social media sleuths resurfaced her old tweets criticizing Islam, George Floyd, and the Oscars themselves.

Gascón, 52, sat down for an interview with CNN en Español on Sunday, Feb. 2, in an effort to do damage control.

During the conversation — translated by CNN — Gascón cried, apologized “to all the people who may have felt offended,” and told host Juan Carlos Arciniegas she is not a racist.

“I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime nor have I harmed anyone,” the Spanish actress said. “I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am.”

Related: Zoe Saldaña Stars in Trailer for Netflix’s ‘Emilia Pérez’ About Transgender Cartel Boss

Gascón made history as the first transgender performer nominated in the best actress category when the Oscar nominations were announced on Jan. 23.

Then, the controversy ignited on Jan. 30, when writer Sarah Hagi reposted Gascón’s old tweets on X (formerly Twitter). Hagi included screengrabs of the original tweets in Spanish along with Google translations. Variety also published tweets from the actress.

In a 2016 post, Gascón called Muslims “a threat” to Europe and said, “It’s not about racism, it’s about Islam.”

In 2020, after George Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, the actress questioned why people were protesting Floyd’s death because he was a “drug addict swindler.”

“I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys without rights and consider policemen to be assassins,” she posted. “They’re all wrong.”

In 2021, when the film Nomadland from Chinese-born director Chloé Zhao won multiple Oscars and Afro-British actor Daniel Kaluuya picked up the best supporting actor trophy for his performance in Judas and the Black Messiah, Gascón complained that the ceremony resembled an “Afro-Korean festival.”

“More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films, I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M,” Gascón posted. “Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala.”

As her resurfaced posts went viral, Gascón issued an apology statement to the Associated Press via Netflix.

“As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain,” the actress said. “All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”

Emilia Pérez, a musical crime saga about a Mexican cartel boss who undergoes gender affirming surgery, leads the Oscar nominations with 13 nods.

Now Gascón’s awards chances are in shambles and the backlash could have a trickle-down effect on the film’s other nominees.

The 97th Oscars are scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 2 in Los Angeles and will air live on ABC.


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About Anita Bennett

Anita Bennett is the editor and founder of Urban Hollywood 411. She can be reached on Twitter @tvanita.

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