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USA Today
03-03-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
What 'Emilia Pérez' gets wrong about Mexico: 'It's a cartoon'
Spoiler alert: We're discussing plot details from Oscar best-picture contender "Emilia Pérez"(streaming now on Netflix). The ending of Netflix's "Emilia Pérez" was both poignant and where the film felt its most hypocritical. Perhaps that's the essence of the controversial film that's nominated for 13 Oscars. After the film climaxes in a predictable shootout, the title character − a Mexican cartel leader who undergoes gender-affirming surgery and is reborn as an activist − is sanctified and immortalized. Her image is resurrected in the form of a life-size Virgen de Guadalupe as mourners lead a procession. Emilia − played by Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón, the first openly transgender best actress nominee − is atoned and forgiven for the deaths she's responsible for as a drug kingpin. A powerful and moving scene, for sure, but it leaves a sour taste. Are we just ignoring that she was a cartel leader for much longer than she was a woman of the people, helping Mexican citizens find the remains of loved ones killed by organized crime? The film, directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard and starring Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Mexican actress Adriana Paz, was seemingly a strong Oscar contender. Then Gascón's racist and xenophobic social media posts resurfaced in the thick of awards season, shifting how it was received by audiences and voters alike. Rate your 'Film of the Year': Join our Movie Meter panel and make your voice heard! The problem with "Emilia Pérez," however, didn't start with Gascón's tweets. It began with the movie's representation of Mexico and how it depicted one of the country's most vulnerable groups of people. For decades, Mexico has dealt with a drug problem that's caused the mass disappearance of people at the hands of criminal organizations in the country. Since 2006, Human Rights Watch reports, Mexico has seen an estimated 90,000 disappearances, and more than 460,000 homicides including politicians, students and journalists, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. Between 2007 and 2023, the Mexican government counted nearly 6,000 clandestine graves, per the International Center for Transitional Justice. It's "such a sensitive topic, one that you really have to tread lightly with," says Jason De León, an anthropologist and author of "Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling." Instead, Audiard's approach feels rather careless and exploitative. After Emilia's transition and return to Mexico, she's stopped in a food market by a grieving mother searching for her lost son killed by cartels. Touched by the gesture, and guilt gnawing at her, Emilia proposes to Rita (Saldaña) that they open a nonprofit dedicated to finding the disappeared. We're expected to brush off the fact that it's now that she chooses to clean up the messes she's had a hand in, simply because she's moved past her former life. "People who lose a loved one because they've disappeared is probably the worst form of trauma that anybody can experience," says De León, who previously ran a nonprofit working with families of missing migrants. "It can never be resolved because you never quite know what happened." At its best, "Emilia Pérez" tackles love and identity with Saldaña and Gascón pouring it all into their roles − but even if Audiard never intended the film to be about Mexican drug cartels, it's what he calls back to constantly. "The cartels are these symbolic metaphorical ideas in the American imagination," says Héctor Tobar, author of "Our Migrant Souls" and professor at the University of California in Irvine. "That subject material is always going to be extremely problematic and like every other film about cartels, it can't help but glorify them." In a recent interview, Audiard dismissed objections to the depiction of cartels and their victims. "The representation of the cartels in the film is thematic," he told Deadline. "It's not something that I'm particularly focused on in the film. There's one scene that deals with it." Rita is essentially abducted by Manitas' cartel multiple times throughout the film, and she's tasked with visiting imprisoned drug lords to uncover leads about mass graves. There's an entire musical number, "Para," where Rita, Emilia and volunteers help find missing people. When kidnapped in the final scenes of the movie, Emilia instructs Rita to call on her former cartel workers to bail her out. And then it all ends in a shootout. "As someone who cares about my community and cares about my country, and cares about my art, it's sad," says Tobar. "You have all these incredibly talented people working on a story that, in the end, turns out to be another narco telenovela." Cartels may be thematic in Audiard's version of Mexico but for many families, they're a point of trauma − an open wound reduced to a melodramatic musical using a drug baron's redemption arc as the catalyst. Or as Mexican screenwriter Héctor Guillén wrote on X in a post viewed more than 2.7 million times: "Almost 500K dead and France decides to do a musical." As a result, we get a film that doesn't take the issue of mass disappearances seriously and a film that doesn't represent Mexico or its people accurately, let alone intentionally. "It's like you have to ask permission if you're a Latino to tell a story that doesn't involve gangs, drugs, cartels or migration," De León adds. "It's indicative of an incredible lack of imagination in Hollywood when it comes to the Latino experience." "Emilia Pérez," France's Oscar submission, marks the first time since 2018's "Roma" (directed by Mexican filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón) that a film about the Mexican community is nominated for best picture. And yet, the 13 Oscar nominations it's up for don't feel like a reason to celebrate for many Mexicans and Mexican Americans. (Or for LGBTQ communities. GLAAD called it a "retrograde portrayal of a trans woman.") "Emilia Pérez" doesn't tell the empowering story it thinks it's portraying about a trans character and self-acceptance, and it sure doesn't use Mexico's mass disappearances responsibly as a vehicle to tell that story. It uses a country and victims of drug crimes as an aesthetic rather than to bring awareness to the issue or tell a different and actually thought-provoking story. "Hollywood only likes Latinos telling certain types of stories and playing certain kinds of roles," De León says. It "could have been so much more, but instead, it's cartoon."
USA Today
25-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Karla Sofía Gascón plans to attend Oscars despite social media controversy
Karla Sofía Gascón's awards season victory lap was derailed by a series of resurfaced social media posts. But the controversial "Emilia Pérez" star is set to make a comeback at Sunday's Academy Awards. Gascón, who is up for best actress for her performance as the title character in Jacques Audiard's musical crime thriller, confirmed her Oscars attendance in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter published Monday. "I'm not sure how I feel, but I'm grateful to be back," Gascón told the outlet. "I'm grateful to all those who've believed in me — to Netflix, the production company and my colleagues. We can close this beautiful and difficult path that began three years ago." Gascón's attendance at the ceremony, which will be held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, will reportedly be financed by Netflix, according to Variety and CNN. According to previous reports, the streaming giant was allegedly reevaluating its awards season courtesies for Gascón, such as providing transportation and accommodations for events. USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Gascón and Netflix for comment. Rate your 'Film of the Year': Join our Movie Meter panel and make your voice heard! Gascón's scheduled Oscars appearance comes after the actress, who made history as the first openly transgender actress to receive a nomination, sparked online backlash with racist and xenophobic social media posts about Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Academy Awards. The Spanish actress was notably absent from the Critics Choice Awards earlier this month, where she won the award for best song, as well as the Independent Spirit Awards and Sunday's Screen Actors Guild Awards. Her co-stars Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez were in attendance at the SAG Awards, however, and the actresses presented their film alone. Karla Sofía Gascón's social media controversy explained In late January, journalist Sarah Hagi shared screenshots of several of Gascón's previous posts on X, some of which date as recently as 2020, and they quickly gained steam —and backlash — from people on social media. Variety was first to report the news. The offending posts ranged in subject from Gascón's view on the Muslim population in Spain, the series of 2020 U.S. demonstrations responding to George Floyd's murder at the hands of police and the 2021 Academy Awards ceremony, which she described as an "ugly gala." "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," Gascón wrote in one of the posts. Gascón quickly apologized for the controversial posts, telling USA TODAY in a statement, "As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well, and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain." In a follow-up statement on Feb. 1, issued via Instagram, Gascón maintained that she "is not a racist" and claimed her resurfaced comments were taken out of context. "I have always fought for a more just society and for a world of freedom, peace and love. I will never support wars, religious extremism or the oppression of races and peoples," she wrote in Spanish. 'I am not a racist':Karla Sofía Gascón apologizes for George Floyd, diversity at Oscars tweets Netflix, 'Emilia Pérez' stars address Karla Sofía Gascón controversy During a Feb. 12 episode of "The Town with Matthew Belloni" podcast, Netflix's chief content officer Bela Bajaria lamented the backlash brought on by Gascón's online controversy. "It really has kind of taken the conversation in a different way (from) this incredible movie that Jacques Audiard — who is an incredible director — has made," Bajaria said. "It really is a bummer for a lot of the people, like (co-stars) Zoe (Saldaña) and Selena (Gomez). And our awards team did an incredible campaign for that movie." Gascón's co-stars Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez also weighed in on the controversy. During a Jan. 31 Q&A in London, Saldaña said the resurfaced posts made her "really sad because I don't support (it), and I don't have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group." Meanwhile, Gomez said during a Feb. 9 appearance at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival that "some of the magic has disappeared," but added that she lives "with no regrets... I would do this movie over and over again if I could." "Emilia Pérez" director Jacques Audiard, who previously distanced himself from Gascón amid the controversy, gave the actress a shoutout when the movie was awarded best film not in the English language at the British Academy Film Awards on Feb. 16. "I would like to thank all the wonderful artists who brought this film to life and who are here with us tonight: My dear Zoe (Saldaña), my dear Selena (Gomez) … But also you, my dear Karla Sofía, that I kiss. I'm deeply proud of what we have all achieved together. Long live 'Emilia Pérez,' " Audiard said. Contributing: Pamela Avila, Anthony Robledo, Bryan Alexander, Patrick Ryan, Jay Stahl, KiMi Robinson and Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY
USA Today
11-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Selena Gomez breaks silence on 'Emilia Pérez' co-star's offensive posts
Selena Gomez is breaking her silence as her film "Emilia Pérez" is embroiled in a PR crisis due to past social media posts from co-star Karla Sofía Gascón. In a Q&A about her Virtuosos Award win during the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Sunday, the Golden Globe nominee admitted that the recent controversy has impacted the way she's been feeling as the Netflix crime drama musical collects trophies at Hollywood award shows. "I'm good. I'm really good," Gomez, 32, said. "Some of the magic has disappeared. But I choose to continue to be proud of what I've done, and I'm just grateful. I live with no regrets, and I would do this movie over and over again if I could." Gomez's comment comes days after director Jacques Audiard distanced himself from Gascón in a Feb. 5 interview with Deadline, calling her past social media posts "inexcusable" and confirming he had not been in contact with her since they became public. In recent weeks, Gascón has made a number of public statements in response to her racist and xenophobic social media posts that an X user resurfaced at the end of January. This is a critical time for Hollywood's award season, with final votes for the March 2 Academy Awards due on Feb. 18. "Emilia Pérez" leads with 13 nominations. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Gascón has offered her "sincerest apologies" for her past comments aimed at Muslim people, Oscars diversity and George Floyd, which were seemingly posted as recently as 2020. However, she also denounced the people who brought her years-old posts to the forefront, writing, "They have achieved their objective, to stain my existence with lies or things taken out of context." In a 50-minute interview with Juan Carlos Arciniegas for CNN en Español on Feb. 2, Gascón said she did not "recognize" some of the old posts social media users have called out, per CNN. Selena Gomez casts doubt on future of her music career During the Q&A, Gomez expressed excitement for her acting career, which has been marked by Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for "Only Murders in the Building" and "Emilia Pérez," respectively. "Having someone see something in me besides the obvious was such a special experience," Gomez said. "The director just really trusted me, and I was so grateful because I've gotten to show people that I am capable of doing more. And I hope this is just the beginning for me in this field." She also cast doubt on her future as a singer. 'Emilia Pérez' controversy:Why 'torturous' movie is criticized for its representation "I'm ready to just focus on this for a while," Gomez said. " I think film and art making and being around such incredible, talented people that have done nothing but uplift me along the way. I don't know, it's going to be hard for me to ever go back to music after this." After the film festival crowd expressed shock at this admission, Gomez laughed for at least 10 seconds. When asked whether she would "never say never," the Disney Channel alum replied: "Maybe." Gascón was also among this year's recipients of the Virtuosos Award but was not in attendance at the film festival. The award, which is presented to "'up-and-coming' actors for achieving a breakthrough performance," also named Kieran Culkin, Ariana Grande, Mikey Madison Harris Dickinson, Clarence Maclin and John Magaro as honorees. Meanwhile, "Emilia Pérez" co-star Zoe Saldaña was named the recipient of SBIFF's American Riviera Award, which honors "outstanding achievement in American film." The actress has also criticized Gascón's posts. "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," Saldaña said at a Q&A on Jan. 31, per a video by The Hollywood Reporter.
USA Today
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
'Emilia Pérez' star Karla Sofía Gascón wins Critics Choice Award amid Oscar controversy
SANTA MONICA, Calif. − Spanish actor Karla Sofía Gascón was one of three "Emilia Pérez" women to win the Critics Choice Award for best song, despite finding herself at the center of Oscar controversy. The film's song "El Mal" won best song at the awards show Friday night, a prize that went to Gascón, co-star Zoe Saldaña and French singer-songwriter Camille (aka Camille Dalmais). Gascón, 52, was not in attendance at the ceremony. While the Netflix film won three categories, she wasn't mentioned by name in any acceptance speech for the movie. "Thank you to the 'Emilia Pérez' team, and for Zoe for being such a great artist," Camille said while accepting best song. Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox. Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle. Voting for the Critics Choice Awards concluded before the controversy surrounding Gascón's past comments broke out. Gascón, who plays the titular role in "Emilia Pérez," has recently garnered headlines for a series of controversial social media posts aimed at Muslim and Black people and diversity at the Oscars. Karla Sofía Gascón has deactivated her X account amid backlash over her controversial tweets Gascón has since deactivated her X account after backlash for her prior posts. In a tweet dated Nov. 23, 2020, which was translated by USA TODAY, Gascón wrote in Spanish: "Sorry, is it just me 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 their skirts down to their heels. Next year instead of English, we'll have to teach Arabic …" In another post, the Oscar nominee also criticized the Academy for its 2021 awards show ceremony, the first following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. "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," Gascón wrote. "Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala." In a Tuesday Instagram post, Gascón thanked "Emilia Pérez" director Jacques Audiard as well as the cast and crew for supporting and understanding her process. She added, "They want to apply 'cancel culture' to me. I ask Hollywood experts, journalists who know me and have followed my career, how can we move forward?" Two days prior, she wrote a lengthy Instagram post saying she "will never ask for forgiveness" and defending her family as "the opposite" of racist. She also said her past social media posts were shared without context of world events "they were actually responding to." That same day, she appeared on CNN en Español for a 50-minute interview with Juan Carlos Arciniegas. Zoe Saldaña, 'Emilia Pérez' director Jacques Audiard give Gascón-free speeches Saldaña continued her winning streak by taking best supporting actress at Critics Choice. The "Avatar" star pulled out a sheet paper for her speech, which did not mention Gascón, saying the speech wasn't put into the teleprompter 'because it was going to be tacky if I assume I'm going to win." She also thanked Audiard, adding that "playing Rita was the challenge of a lifetime." 'To think that 'Emilia Pérez' has been the little movie that could and has resonated with so many people has been an experience worth having," she added. "To the entire cast and crew, the talented artists and designers and musicians, I share this with you." Speaking through a translator on the speech, the French director said, "I feel like I've died and gone to heaven" after receiving his award from film icon Jackie Chan. "I've prepared three speeches, that seems a bit presumptuous," Audiard added. Without mentioning Gascón, he thanked the critics who voted. "This prize is the proof you have found me and I thank you with all my heart," he said. Contributing: KiMi Robinson
CNN
31-01-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
Karla Sofía Gascón apologizes for past controversial posts
'Emilia Pérez' star Karla Sofía Gascón has had to pause her celebration for making Oscars history to offer an apology. 'I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt,' Gascón said in a statement provided to CNN. '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.' Gascón is the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category. Journalist Sarah Hagi shared screenshots of the actress's past social media posts in which she criticized Muslims' dress, George Floyd and the Oscars. The posts were translated from Gascón's native language of Spanish. One of them addressed the death of Floyd, who died in 2020 after an encounter with police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 'Honestly, I think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider Black people to be … without rights and consider policemen to be assassins,' she posted. 'They're all wrong.' The actress also posted critically about the 2021 Academy Awards, held after the Covid-19 pandemic had disrupted Hollywood and much of the world. '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,' Gascón wrote. 'Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala.' She also posted about Islam and the Muslim community. 'Islam is becoming a hotbed of infection for humanity that urgently needs to be cured,' she wrote in a post from 2016. Gascón was nominated for best actress for her performance in the Netflix musical/crime drama about a drug lord seeking gender reassignment surgery.
