Karla Sofía Gascón: A timeline of the controversy surrounding Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez star
The news was hailed as a positive moment as the 52-year-old Emilia Perez star became the first-ever openly trans individual to be nominated for an Academy Award in any acting category.
But Less than two weeks later, Gascón's Academy Award campaign is in tatters as Netflix distances itself from the star of the movie musical.
Netflix, the film's distributor, has reportedly removed Gascón from promotional emails and plans to edit the film's posters to give co-star Zoe Saldaña, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, more prominence.
That came after a string of controversies, as Gascón took aim at the publicity campaign of a rival film and she faced accusations of racism and Islamophobia when old social media posts resurfaced.
Here's a timeline of how Gascón's Oscar chances have taken a hit:
January 23, 2025 - Karla Sofía Gascón nominated for Best Actress at the 2025 Oscars
Gascón made history as she became the first-ever openly trans individual nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category. Having also been nominated for the Golden Globes and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Gascón was considered among the frontrunners to win the Oscar.
Not everyone was impressed, however. The Independent film critic Clarisse Loughrey argued that: ' Emilia Pérez 's Oscar nomination haul is regression masquerading as progress.'
January 30 - Gascón clarifies comments about fellow contender's team 'tearing her down'
In an interview with the Brazilian newspaper Folha de S Paulo, Gascón suggested that publicists working for her Oscar award rival Fernanda Torres had spoken negatively about her and Emilia Perez.
'You don't need to tear down someone's work to highlight another's,' she complained. '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 Perez down. That speaks more about their movie than mine.'
After her comments sparked an uproar, Gascón issued a new statement claiming that what she said did not extend to those 'directly associated' with Torres, but instead was aimed toward 'toxicity and violent hate speech on social media.'
'I am an enormous fan of Fernanda Torres and it has been wonderful getting to know her the past few months,' she noted. 'In my recent comments, I was referencing the toxicity and violent hate speech on social media that I sadly continue to experience. Fernanda has been a wonderful ally, and no one directly associated with her has been anything but supportive and hugely generous.'
January 30 - Gascón receives backlash over resurfaced tweets
Outrage then erupted against Gascón online after journalist Sarah Hagi drew attention to a series of tweets from Gascón's account between 2020 and 2021.
One from September 2020 read: 'Islam is marvelous, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected 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 ... How DEEPLY DISGUSTING OF HUMANITY.'
Another from November 22, 2020 stated: 'I'm Sorry, Is it just my impression or [are] 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.'
Gascón also posted a string of tweets about George Floyd in the days after he was killed by a police officer in which she described him as 'a drug addict' and a 'swindler.'
After the Oscars in 2021, Gascón complained in a post: '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 [Women's March]. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala.'
January 31 - Gascón apologizes 'to those I have caused pain'
After deleting the controversial tweets, Gascón said in a statement to The Independent: 'I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. 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.'
January 31 - Gascón deletes X account and says she has been 'threatened with death'
Gascón deleted her X account and spoke out about death threats against her. 'I'm sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect me and my family, so at their request I am closing my account on X,' she said.
'I have been threatened with death, insulted, abused and harassed to the point of exhaustion. I have a wonderful daughter to protect, whom I love madly and who supports me in everything.'
February 1 - Zoe Saldaña breaks silence over scandal
Gascón's Emilia Perez co-star Zoe Saldaña responded to the growing controversy during a question-and-answer appearance in London, saying: 'I'm still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I'm sad.'
She added: 'It makes me really sad because I don't support [it], and I don't have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric toward people of any group.'
'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. And it just saddens me,' Saldaña added.
Gascón had originally been scheduled to appear at the Q&A but was notably absent.
February 3 - Gascón breaks down in tears during a CNN interview as she claims: 'I'm not racist'
During an hour-long interview with CNN en Español, Gascón broke down in tears as she answered questions about her social media history, telling interviewer Juan Carlos Arciniegas that she was 'not a racist.'
She addressed her tweet about George Floyd, whose murder by a white police officer in 2020 spawned the Black Lives Matter movement, saying it had been misinterpreted.
"He was a person who had been in a very difficult situation in his life and no one had helped him, and suddenly he becomes a symbol of a cause and everyone loved him,' she said. 'For someone to think that … I have ever insulted a person because of their skin color, I do not allow that to anyone, to anyone.'
Regarding her several tweets that have been condemned as Islamophobic, Gascón said she had been voicing criticism of radical Islam, and had not caused harm to anyone.
She said she had a relationship with a Muslim woman 'whom I adore, whom I love and who has taught me so much about respect for people.'
February 5 - Netflix distances itself from Gascón and removes her from Oscar campaigns
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Emilia Pérez distributor Netflix removed Gascón from promotional emails and plans to edit the film's posters to give Saldaña more prominence. It also claims that Netflix will not cover any of Gascón's travel fees to promote the film, and will not fly her to Los Angeles to campaign for the film in the run up to the Academy Awards on March 2.
February 5 - Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard condemns 'hateful' and 'inexcusable' tweets
In an interview with Deadline, Emilia Pérez director JacquesAudiard disavowed Gascón, saying: 'It's very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía. The trust we shared, the exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set that was indeed based on trust.'
He added: 'When you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected. It's as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable.'
Asked whether he had spoken to Gascón, Audiard responded: '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.'
He added: 'Why is she harming herself? Why? I don't understand it, and what I don't understand about this too is why she's harming people who were very close to her.'
Audiard noted: 'I'm thinking... of how [she's] 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.'
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Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MEGHAN Markle has shared a new cringey trailer for her critically panned Netflix show. Footage showed the Duchess of Sussex alongside a host of famous guests speaking about how she "loves finding new ways to show people she cares" ahead of the release of the second series of With Love, Meghan on August 26. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 The second season Meghan Markle's show With Love, Meghan is due to be released on August 26 Credit: JAKE ROSENBERG/NETFLIX 7 Today's trailer has revealed some of the stars who are due to join her in the new series Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX 7 The first season of her show aired on Netflix in March Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX The first season of Meghan's eight-part Netflix show saw her bee-keeping, making homemade candles and cooking with celeb pals, including Mindy Kaling and make-up artist Daniel Martin. 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This comes after Harry and Meghan announced yesterday they had signed a new "multi-year, first look deal" with the American streaming giant to produce "film and television projects". The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have previously released a number of shows on the platform, including a 2022 documentary on their lives and lifestyle show With Love, Meghan this year. They had secured a lucrative five-year contract - thought to be worth more than $100 million (£74 million) - with Netflix after quitting as senior working royals in 2020. However, this new deal has been signed for "much less", an insider told Page Six. Meghan said in a statement: 'We're proud to extend our partnership with Netflix and expand our work together to include the As Ever brand. "My husband and I feel inspired by our partners who work closely with us and our Archewell Productions team to create thoughtful content across genres that resonates globally, and celebrates our shared vision.' 7 The cringey trailer sees Meghan cooking, baking and creating drinks with celebrity friends Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX 7 At one point the duchess remarks how she 'loves the idea of just spending time together and finding new ways to show people you care' Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX 7 The cringey clip also sees her say 'there are easy ways to show up, lovingly' Credit: JAKE ROSENBERG/NETFLIX Netflix will only pay for projects they want to screen, rather than pay in a single multi-million pound agreement like the one signed in 2020, The Sun understands. The Sun can also reveal, however, that the streaming giants will cover Archewell Productions's overheads, including all costs for its offices and staff. The new deal was also described as a "downgrade" by PR expert Mark Borkowski. He told the Mail: "I think Netflix has done a very neat job of pivoting away from two very expensive people who didn't deliver, and they've taken that deal off the table, and they've given them a modest one. "It's not like they're gradually uncoupling – it's a downgrade. Netflix are not going to expose themselves to those budgets again. It's Netflix saying, 'Let's have a look at your content, but we'll pick and choose, mate'." 'Meghan & Harry need to come up with a hit soon' By Matt Wilkinson JUST when you thought it was safe to turn the telly on again... Harry and Meghan are back. And their multi-year renewal with Netflix means they are not going away anytime soon. There have been tense negotiations in recent weeks but Netflix is so deeply involved with Meghan's As Ever brand it was always likely that the streaming giants would want them back. Make no mistake, Harry and Meghan would have been desperate for the deal to be renewed. They will likely be opening a bottle or two of As Ever Rose in Montecito. Because they have invested heavily in Archewell Productions and getting on board with Netflix is central not only to their post-Royal endeavours but more importantly crucial to their bank accounts. If they lost their Netflix money then how could they afford their life in the US? While the length of the deal or how much the couple are getting paid is vague we do know that Meghan will appear in a 'holiday special' in December that will likely clash with the Princess of Wales's annual Christmas carol concert at Westminster Abbey. And finally, two years after I revealed in The Sun the couple had bought the rights to the book Meet Me At The Lake, production is in active development. Sources close to the couple are coy about whether Harry or Meghan will appear on screen for the production of Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within which will air later this year. But perhaps the best piece of news from the announcement is no repeat of the six-part documentary which dumped on the Royal Family. However, 'Harry & Meghan' was a ratings dream and none of their projects since have been anywhere as successful. They need to come up with a hit soon. And this 'first look' deal means Netflix has the first option on new projects from the couple without any guaranteed commitment. But remember the Sussexes are not the only Royals to be in bed with Netflix. The King will feature in a documentary on The King's Foundation with Idris Elba. On top of Season 2 of With Love, Meghan - which will drop later this month - the couple will also film a "Holiday Celebration" Christmas special. "Join Meghan in Montecito for a magical holiday celebration," the announcement read. "Together, friends and family deck the halls, create holiday feasts, craft heartfelt gifts, and share lots of laughs – with simple how-tos to follow at home. It's a holiday wonder with warmth, tradition, and a generous dose of joy." The couple will also release a short film called "Masaka Kids, A Rhythm Within" which will look at Uganda's Masaka region and the HIV/AIDS crisis there. This has echoes of Harry's mum Diana's work, who pioneered social change on perceptions of HIV/AIDS. She famously shook the hand of a man suffering with the illness without gloves, publicly challenging the idea that HIV/Aids was passed from person to person by touch. There is also "active development" on other projects with Netflix which "span a variety of content genres", including a feature adaptation of the bestselling romantic novel by Carley Fortune, Meet Me At The Lake. Bela Bajaria, Netflix's Chief Content Officer, said: 'Harry and Meghan are influential voices whose stories resonate with audiences everywhere. "The response to their work speaks for itself — Harry & Meghan gave viewers an intimate look into their lives and quickly became one of our most-watched documentary series. "More recently, fans have been inspired by With Love, Meghan, with products from the new As Ever line consistently selling out in record time. "We're excited to continue our partnership with Archewell Productions and to entertain our members together.' It was previously thought that the Sussexes' £74million deal with the streamer was not going to be renewed. Harry's vanity project, Polo, about the sport, was watched by just 500,000 people. But it was also understood that bosses were mildly infuriated by Meghan making her As Ever brand a priority. The With Love, Meghan viewing figures have reportedly been "dismal". Lifestyle and cookery show With Love, Meghan only ranked at number 383 in Netflix's six-monthly engagement report this year, with just 5.3million viewers across the globe. Described by one critic as an 'exercise in narcissism', it was beaten by reruns of the first four seasons of legal drama Suits, which also starred the Duchess in her pre-royal days. Once judged by some as Britain's greatest soft power asset since Princess Diana, Meghan was filmed for her show making ladybird-shaped canapes from cherry tomatoes and mozzarella balls. In truth, the show is a smash hit compared to her husband's vanity docuseries Polo, blasted as 'a dull indulgence about a rich person's pursuit'. In the first six months of the year the programme attracted a disastrous 500,000 views globally, ranking it at number 3,442 out of around 7,000 shows.
