Karla Sofía Gascón has responded to criticism from Emilia Perez director Jacques Audiard, who distanced himself from the actor this week amid a scandal over resurfaced social media posts.
The 52-year-old is in contention for Best Actress at the Academy Awards, for her role as a transgender crime boss in the polarising Netflix musical.
However, in the past fortnight, Gascón’s awards campaign has been derailed by backlash to a number of offensive tweets she made over the past five years, including posts about George Floyd, Islam and diversity at the Oscars.
In a recent interview with Deadline, Audiard called Gascón’s comments “inexcusable” and accused her of “playing the victim”, adding he hadn’t spoken to her since the fallout and “didn’t want to”.
In response, the actor shared a statement to Instagram announcing she would be stepping back from the public eye for the remainder of this awards season.
“Following Jacques 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 on Thursday (6 February).
“I sincerely apologise to everyone who has been hurt along the way,” Gascón added.
Speaking to Deadline a day earlier, Audiard said of the Emilia Perez star: “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? “I don’t understand it.
“What I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her. I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us.”
Gascón had previously issued multiple apologies for the posts, and appeared in an hour-long interview with CNN en Español in which she broke down in tears as she answered questions about her social media history, telling interviewer Juan Carlos Arciniegas that she was “not a racist”.
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Netflix, the film’s distributor, has reportedly removed Gascón from promotional emails and has edited the film’s posters to give co-star Zoe Saldana more prominence, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
It said that Gascón would not be flying to Los Angeles this week from her home in Spain for the pre-Oscars promotional campaign.
The star had a planned itinerary that included major events such as the AFI Awards luncheon on Thursday (6 February), the Critics Choice Awards on Friday (7 February), the Directors Guild of America Awards and the Producers Guild of America Awards on Saturday (8 February). Gascón is no longer expected to attend the events.
Asked by CNN if she would renounce her Oscar nomination, Gascón said: “I cannot renounce a nomination because what I have done is a job and what is being valued is my acting work.” (Per a translation by THR.)
“I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime nor have I harmed anyone,” she continued. “I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am.”
Gascón previously told The Independent in a statement: “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt.
“As someone in a marginalised community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”
You can read a full timeline of the Emilia Perez controversy here.
