Karla Sofía Gascón is doing her mea culpa as a floodgate of old tweets comes back to bite her where it hurts and makes it less likely that she will win an Oscar for her memorable performance in Emilia Pérez.
Gascón took on the role of a notorious Mexican cartel boss who fakes his death and transitions into a woman. The Spanish Oscar-nominated trans actor issued an apologetic statement where she took responsibility for the profound hurt her careless words have caused to multiple marginalized communities.
Karla Sofía Gascón stated: “As someone in a marginalized 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.”
Tweets and messages dating back from 2016 have been making the rounds because they are deemed racist, sexist, and islamophobe.
Karla Sofía Gascón shared her unsolicited thoughts on the killing of George Floyd, who she claimed was a drug dealer, and police brutality in America. According to Variety, Gascón also lashed out at Muslims.
In Karla Sofía Gascón’s posts about George Floyd, she stated: “I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to demonstrate once again that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys Without rights and consider policemen to be assassins. They’re all wrong.”
She continued: “There are too many things to reflect on regarding the behavior of our species every time an event occurs. Perhaps it is no longer a question of racism but of social classes that feel threatened by each other. Maybe that’s the only real difference.”
Karla Sofía Gascón shared some controversial thoughts on practicing Muslims. She wrote: “I’m sorry. Is it just my impression, or are there more Muslims in Spain? Every time I pick up my daughter from school, there are more women with their hair covered and skirts down to their heels. Next year, we’ll have to teach Arabic instead of English.”
In another post, she wrote: “Islam fails to comply with international rights. Religions must be banned as long as it does not comply with DDHH.(human rights in Spanish law.)”
Zoë Saldaña had an interesting reaction to her Emilia Pérez co-star’s offensive tweets.
During a Q&A in London, Zoë Saldaña was asked to share her opinion about the controversial tweets. Saldaña, visibly shocked and unable to defend Gascón, expressed her profound sadness upon discovering the disparaging messages.
Via The Hollywood Reporter, she stated that it was a major setback and added: “I’m still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I’m sad. It makes me sad because I don’t support [it], and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group. I can only attest to my experience with every individual who was a part of this film, and my experience and interactions with them were about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural, and gender equity. And it just saddens me.”
Saldaña continued: “It saddens me that we face this setback right now. But I’m happy that you’re all here and still showing up for Emilia because this film’s message is so powerful, and the change it can bring forward to marginalized communities daily is important.”
She concluded: “And all that I can attest to is that all of us who came together to tell this story came together for love, respect, and curiosity, and we will continue to spread that message. That’s all we can say right now. Thank you.”
Saldaña might have found the sensible way to handle the controversy.
