Something tells me Karla Sofía Gascón, the star of the controversial Emilia Pérez, won’t be getting an Oscar this year. On January 30, journalist Sarah Hagi shared a series of old tweets by Karla, and they are truly some of the most horrific posts I’ve ever seen. Mostly between 2020 and 2021, the actress targeted Muslims, George Floyd, Chinese people, and even The Academy, with vicious posts on X. This disturbing new information about Karla comes after she touted acceptance and authenticity throughout the Emilia Pérez press tour and awards season. “The light always wins over darkness,” she claimed when her film won best musical or comedy at the Golden Globes. “I want to say to you, Raise your voice. I am who I am; know who you are.” Karla notably made history as the first openly trans actress to be nominated for an Oscar for her role in Emilia.
So, why the fuck would she tweet these awful messages about so many marginalized groups? Here’s a breakdown of the Karla Sofía Gascón social media posts controversy.
Karla Sofía Gascón Social Media Posts Controversy, Explained
Karla Sofía Gascón’s Offensive Posts About Muslims, George Floyd, Oscars Diversity
The journalist shared several screenshots and translations of Karla’s past tweets and called it “insane” that the actress hadn’t deleted those tweets. “Straight up have never seen tweets this racist from someone actively campaigning to win an ACADEMY AWARD,” Sarah wrote, noting that there are “more than a dozen” of them. Yeah, um… where in the world has Karla’s PR team been??
Since Sarah’s post, most of the awful tweets have now been deleted from Karla’s account. Of course, the screenshots are still making their way around the internet. Days after George Floyd, a Black man, was tragically murdered by a white police officer in Minnesota, Karla allegedly called George “a drug addict swindler” in a tweet, per Variety‘s translation. She added that people who “consider policemen to be assassins” are “all wrong.”
A few months later, she referred to the COVID-19 vaccine as “the Chinese vaccine” and wrote that it “comes with two spring rolls, a cat that moves its hand, 2 plastic flowers, a pop-up lantern, 3 telephone lines and one euro for your first controlled purchase.”
Aaaand there’s more. In a November 2020 tweet, Karla wrote about her concern that there are “more muslims in Spain,” per Variety‘s translation. She wrote, “Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels,” adding, “Next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.” She also suggested that Islam be banned.
Karla also had a lot to say about the 2021 Oscars. She called the award show “a ceremony for independent and protest films” and added, “I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M.”
The actress addressed the controversy in a January 31 statement 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,” she said. “All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”
Zoe Saldaña And Selena Gomez React To The Karla Sofía Gascón Tweets Controversy
During a January Q&A in London, Zoe commented on the resurfaced tweets. “It makes me really sad because I don’t support [it], and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group,” she said. “I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part, that is a part, of this film, and my experience and my interactions with them was about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural and gender equity.” Zoe added that the whole situation “saddens” her.
Selena addressed the controversy while at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 9. During a panel, the actress was asked how she was doing, and she replied, “I’m good. I’m really good. Some of the magic has disappeared, but I choose to continue to be proud of what I’ve done, and I’m just grateful.” Selena added, “I live with no regrets and I would do this movie over and over again if I could.”
