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‘Do not give this woman an Oscar’: Star in storm over racist tweets

By Garry Maddox

Less than a week after Emilia Pérez led the Academy Award race with 13 nominations, star Karla Sofía Gascón, has become the centre of controversy over past tweets that were critical of murder victim George Floyd, Muslims in her native Spain, and diversity at the Oscars.

French director Jacques Audiard’s edgy musical drama about a male Mexican drug cartel boss who transitions to become a woman had been among the favourites in a wide-open best picture field. Additionally, Gascón has made history as the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for best actress.

Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Perez.

Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Perez.

But the film’s chances of sweeping the field are rapidly dwindling, with it criticised in Mexico for trafficking in negative stereotypes about the country, for featuring just one main Mexican actor, and for being made by a French director who speaks no Spanish.

Emilia Pérez has also been slammed by LGBTQ+ advocacy organisation GLAAD as a “profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman”.

Now its Oscar hopes have really nosedived as Gascón’s posts on X, formerly Twitter, have gone viral.

Shortly after Floyd’s murder sparked Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Gascón tweeted that he was “a drug addict swindler” who became “a martyr hero” when he was killed by “an idiot policeman”.

The same year, the outspoken actor tweeted (according to a translation for Variety): “I’m sorry, is it just my impression, or is there more Muslims in Spain? 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. Next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.”

On a photo of a Muslim family in a restaurant, Gascón commented ironically that Islam was so respectful of women that “they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves”, adding, “How DEEPLY DISGUSTING OF HUMANITY”.

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In 2021, Gascón tweeted that “Islam fails to comply with international rights” and that it “must be banned as long as it does not comply with [human rights under Spanish law].”

She was also unimpressed with the 2021 Oscars, the first after the pandemic, when Nomadland won best picture.

Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Pérez

Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Pérez

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

The growing controversy has sparked up an Oscars campaigning season that was expected to be sombre and respectful after the Los Angeles fires.

While there is always the suspicion that a rival studio is employing the dark arts to undermine Netflix’s Emilia Pérez, it was a journalist, Sarah Hagi, who first drew attention to Gascón’s posts.

She wrote that it was “insane” that the actor still had “racist” tweets online, given she was campaigning to win an Oscar.

Tweets deleted

Some of the controversial tweets have since been deleted, but not before a Vanity Fair writer could implore, “For the love of God, do not give this woman an Oscar!”

Gascón had already been controversial after suggesting in an interview with a Brazilian newspaper that online forces were working with her fellow best actress nominee Fernanda Torres, who stars in best picture contender I’m Still Here, to smear her and the Emilia Pérez team.

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“What I don’t like are social media teams – people who work with these people – trying to diminish our work, like me and my movie because that doesn’t lead anywhere,” she said.

“I have never, at any point, said anything bad about Fernanda Torres or her movie.

“However, there are people working with Fernanda Torres tearing me and Emilia Pérez down. That speaks more about their movie than mine.”

Gascón later clarified that she was a huge fan of Torres and that she was referring to “the toxicity and violent hate speech on social media that I sadly continue to experience”.

After Hagi’s thread of the controversial tweets was viewed more than 2.2 million times, Gascón apologised.

“As someone in a marginalised 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”.

The 97th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, are on March 3, Australian time.

Find out the next TV, streaming series and movies to add to your must-sees. Get The Watchlist delivered every Thursday.

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Original URL: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/culture/movies/do-not-give-this-woman-an-oscar-star-in-storm-over-racist-tweets-20250131-p5l8jw.html