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Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The business of hate: Importing & exporting the Invisible Empire through Shreveport
SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Synonymous with hate, the Ku Klux Klan is easily one of the most infamous groups in American history. Formed by a group of mainly Confederate veterans in Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1865, the Ku Klux Klan graduated from relatively tame demonstrations to full-on domestic terrorism. Nathan Bedford Forest led the charge as the group's first leader, also known as the 'imperial wizard' of their 'Invisible Empire of the South.' With the stated goal of upending Reconstruction in the South out of fear of losing unquestioned white supremacy, the Klan spread unimaginable terror. In reaffirming white superiority, the group faded into the background in the late 1870s but would return with a vengeance through a new form of media – the silver screen. The 1915 film The Birth of a Nation gave the Klan a second life as its popularity soared in the following decade. Extolling the virtues of the previous post-Reconstruction Klan and depicting African Americans as thoughtless savages, the group made a powerful resurgence under William Joseph Simmons. This Second Klan expanded its influence beyond the American South, hiring recruiters and adopting a proper pyramid scheme of initiation fees and robe sales. This was evident through the Klan's rise in north Louisiana. The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan formed a branch in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1920 and nearly took control of the state in 1922. Early Louisiana civil rights pioneer W. Jasper Blackburn Following the disappearance of two men in Mer Rouge, Louisiana, Governor John M. Parker sought assistance from the Justice Department as he correctly suspected Klan involvement. After sending a quartet of agents to Mer Rouge, they found the missing men had been murdered. The agents soon discovered that their lives were also in danger, as Phillip H. Mecom, United States Attorney of the Western District located in Shreveport, was an active Klan member who attempted to halt investigations. The Klan's expansion from Shreveport into Mer Rouge, Bastrop, and other northern Louisiana towns coincided with their growth in gaining membership from mayors, sheriffs, and doctors. However, by the mid-1920s, the Klan's power throughout the state faded drastically with the election of Governor Henry Fuqua. In what was later coined the 'Fuqua Law,' the Klan was required to fill out annual membership lists. With the Klan's prominence in Louisiana fading by the mid-1920s, men like Luther Ivan Powell, born in Shreveport, began to fill the void elsewhere. Powell extended the Klan's influence in the western United States, beginning in California in 1920. As a Klan Department of Propagation graduate, he proved an effective recruiter and organizer for the group, moving further North into Medford, Oregon, in 1921. Powell was able to tailor Klan messaging to meet the needs of the time. Rather than harping on a deep hatred for African Americans in a population that lacked a substantial black demographic, he changed his tune toward opposing Catholics, supporting prohibition, and consistently attacking Japanese Americans. A pattern was established with the group's city infiltration into communities: spreading anti-Catholic, nationalistic pamphlets into communities. Following this, an overzealous protestant minister spread the word of an alleged Vatican takeover of Washington, D.C., sowing seeds of distrust of Catholics. With the congregation swept up in fear, local pastors began Klan recruitment. Unsolved crime: Shreveport's St. Rest Baptist Church bombed during Civil Rights Movement The Klan's infiltration into Medford went deeper than a few public appearances. Lawernce J. Saalfeld, a historian of the Oregon Klan, reports that the press neglected to disclose the Klan's emergence as a significant political force. Oregon Senate candidates initially vied for Klan support to ensure political survival. The mayor of Medford was compromised immediately, joining the group. Later, politicians in Eugene, Tillamook, Condon, and Astoria, were also found to be Klansmen. This was a common tactic of the Klan, molding the social paranoia surrounding a given area. Anti-Japanese rhetoric flourished in the Pacific coastal states, anti-Mexican in the Southwest, and anti-Semitism in the Northern Atlantic States. Of course, this was not hatred for hatred's sake; monetary strings were attached to the sentiment. Capitalizing on the social paranoia lined the pockets of prominent Klan leaders like Powell and others in future generations. His organizing strategy was simple yet effective. He used the existing memberships of fraternal, civic, and social groups as high-yielding grounds for fostering Klan membership. This foreshadows future Klan tactics using business fronts to conceal criminal activity. While in Oregon, he founded Klan chapters in Klamath Falls and Roseburg and a sizeable chapter in Portland that bore his name, Luther Ivan Powell Klan No. 1. However, as quick as the success came, it left, and Powell fell out of favor with the Klan in Oregon as all Klan-backed candidates failed in primaries in 1922. This initiated Powell's moving north to Washington, as several promised Klan business ventures (guaranteeing a skyscraper) failed. Powell saw early gains as Kleagle of Washington and Idaho soon after moving in 1922. In a twist of irony, he replaced fellow Shreveport, Louisiana native L. M. McFarlin, as the 'King Kleagle' of the Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan' for the 'Realm of Washington,' worked from a temporary office at the St. Regis Hotel in Seattle. The 'King Kleagle of the Pacific Northwest Domain' now encompassed Washington, Oregon, Alaska, and Hawaii. He sought to expand further by instituting a branch of the Klan for women. Powell also employed the help of Dr. W. M. Rose to begin a Klan affiliate, the Royal Riders of the Red Robe, later known as American Krusaders. This group further expanded the Klan's reach for naturalized U.S. citizens. David M. Chalmers, author of Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan (3rd Edition), in his analysis of the American Krusaders writes, 'real patriotic organization to all Canadians, Englishmen, and other white, Gentile, Protestants.' The group excluded immigrants from Greece, Italy, and the Balkans. Powell also began a newspaper, The Watch on the Tower, to further spread the ideals of the Klan. However, due to internal strife, greed, and abrasive personality, typical of the Second and future Third iteration of the Klan, Powell left Washington by 1923, which brought him to Vancouver, B.C., in late 1925. Shreveport was a major Confederate capital; here's why it still matters Following yet another expulsion, Powell returned home to Shreveport, Louisiana, in the 1930s. He returned with a new goal of sparking a fascist movement known as the Khaki Shirts of America. As he attempted to foment a fascist movement in his hometown, he began a sinister partnership with William Dudley Pelley. Pelley was a noted supporter of Adolf Hitler. On January 31, 1933, the day after Hitler's rise to power in Germany, he founded the Silver Shirts Legion of America. Powell's Shreveport venture did not last long, as Trevor Griffey of the Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project recounts in a memoir from a Shreveport police officer in the 1930s, 'He has lived by his wits for many years– in fact, I have never known him to do any work. He pays no bills, and he is a man utterly without standing in the community. He presents a good superficial appearance and is a good speaker, and in that way he got control of the organization known as the Khaki Shirts of America. I am reliably informed that his misuse of the funds of the organization was the primary cause of its disbandment… I am… certain that no organization sponsored by Powell could make any headway here because Powell has neither the respect nor the confidence of anyone who knows him.' It is no surprise that Powell became the State Manager of Townsend Pension, as the Shreveport Journal reported in 1935. 'Luther I. Powell, better known as Maj. Powell, for 25 years a resident of Shreveport, has returned from an extended trip of the Western States, begun by him last spring on behalf of the Townsend age-old revolving pension plan. Among the states included in his itinerary were Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. Mr. Powell Tuesday was appointed Louisiana state manager of the Townsend old-age plan movement in Louisiana, he said. Club No. 1 will be set up in Shreveport.' While Powell's fascist movement fell flat, the foundation was firmly laid for the Klan's return in future decades in Shreveport. Powell served as an example of Shreveport exporting the business of hate into other areas. The 1960s came with a new obstacle to overcome: the entrance of the infamous Roy Elonzo Davis. Connecting accusations of involvement with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, confirmed plots to assassinate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as early as 1964, and the Mississippi burning murders, Shreveport serves as somewhat of a connective piece in all of these events. Roy Elonzo Davis wore several hats throughout his life. Born in Texas in 1890, he and his brother instigated several complex schemes, fronting as Christian charities while defrauding congregations and several banks throughout the United States. In the 1910s, he adopted the alias Lon Davis to evade law enforcement. In the 1920s, Davis was a founding member of the second iteration of the Ku Klux Klan under William Joseph Simmons. Davis proved vital in Klan recruitment across the Deep South until a factional split in 1924 led Simmons to create a Klan organization, the Knights of the Flaming Sword. As the Knights of the Flaming Sword quickly disbanded, Davis turned his attention toward the formation of the Pentecostal Baptist Church of God. The formation of this new church provided Davis with a new avenue to continue his enterprise. He ordained and mentored William Branham, a self-professed faith healer who believed he received direct messages from God. Following decades of continuing his criminal activity from state to state, dodging trials and convictions, Davis returned to Texas and eventually settled in Dallas. In 1958, Davis became the Grand Dragon of the Klan in Texas. The following year, he became the self-professed Imperial Wizard of the Original Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, where his recruitment efforts brought him to Shreveport, Louisiana. Citizens prevented Claiborne Parish lynching in 1907 Following decades of continuing his criminal activity from state to state, dodging trials and convictions, Davis returned to Texas and eventually settled in Dallas. In 1958, Davis became the Grand Dragon of the Klan in Texas. The following year, he became the self-professed Imperial Wizard of the Original Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, where his recruitment efforts brought him to Shreveport, Louisiana. The Original Knights of the Ku Klux Klan formed late in December 1960, and they made several public displays to make their presence known across North Louisiana. A cross was burned in Congressman Overton Brooks's yard, much to the dismay of the Shreveport Journal (then ardent segregationists.) They felt that the cross-burnings would elicit sympathy for integrationist causes. According to a House of Unamerican Activities Committee held in 1966, Davis led the formation of the OKKKK yet exercised little leadership, which generally fell into the hands of John D. Swenson. Swenson held the title of national Kleagle and Grand Dragon of Louisiana. From its inception to 1963, the OKKKK held immense strength in Shreveport, Monroe, and Bogalusa, Louisiana. Despite a lack of authentic leadership from Davis in the local Shreveport Klan, he kept himself busy with constant attacks against President John F. Kennedy. Davis set out these flyers just days before President Kennedy's assassination, prompting several investigations into his organization. While Davis stood more as a figurehead of the OKKKK, the previously mentioned Swenson directed much of the Klan activity from the Shreveport-Bossier area. CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) activist Heather Tilsen Baum recounted, 'Bogalusa is a small town close to what at the time was called 'the seat' of the Klan in Shreveport. Carver Memorial Cemetery: Resting place of many Shreveport Civil Rights activists In the summer of 1963, the OKKKK in Bogalusa nearly lynched CORE leader James Farmer, who had to escape the city by hiding in a hearse. The subsequent years of constant OKKKK harassment gave Bogalusa the distinction of 'Klantown, USA' through its leadership under Charles Christmas and Saxon Farmer. Their front organization differed from their northern counterparts, as they were known as they disguised themselves as the 'Anti-Communist Christian Association.' In 1965, the Deacons for Defense and Justice were formed to protect Civil Rights workers, mainly CORE and the Bogalusa Voter's League. Due to the sheer repression of the OKKKK, historian Adam Fairclough, in Race & Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915-1972, concluded that Bogalusa became a testing ground for the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Under Swenson's new direction, the OKKKK spread its recruitment into Arkansas and, most notably, Mississippi. However, a three-way factional split soon spelled trouble for Swenson, as Mississippi Grand Dragon Douglas Byrd and Klan officer Edward McDaniel accused him of personally profiting from the sale of robes. Swenson and Imperial Dragon Royal Young attested to leaving the Klan in 1964. While under Swenson and Young's leadership, the group was the 'Louisiana Rifle Association' in Shreveport, while the Monroe branch operated under a similar umbrella as a 'Hunting and Fishing Club.' Under Swenson's new direction, the OKKKK spread its recruitment into Arkansas and, most notably, Mississippi. However, a three-way factional split soon spelled trouble for Swenson, as Mississippi Grand Dragon Douglas Byrd and Klan officer Edward McDaniel accused him of personally profiting from the sale of robes. Swenson and Imperial Dragon Royal Young attested to leaving the Klan in 1964. While under Swenson and Young's leadership, the group was the 'Louisiana Rifle Association' in Shreveport, while the Monroe branch operated under a similar umbrella as a 'Hunting and Fishing Club.' A substantial number of members from the OKKKK split led to the formation of the infamous White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of Mississippi, led by Imperial Wizard Samuel Bowers Jr. Bowers held the headquarters for the WKKKK in Laurel, Mississippi. Bowers' presentation was likened to future prominent Klansman David Duke. He considered himself a gentleman, was soft-spoken, and considered himself of a 'higher level' than the stereotypical version of a Klansman. In the summer of 1964, the White Knights committed the infamous Mississippi burning murders, killing James Chaney, Mickey Schwerner, and Andrew Goodman. The three CORE activists were close friends of Dave Dennis Sr., freedom rider and prominent CORE leader. He would have been in the car with them had he not contracted bronchitis and returned home to Shreveport. After the murders, the White Knights employed the use of several front organizations to conceal Klan activity, much like the OKKKK. One of the front organizations was The White Christian Protective and Legal Defense Fund. Despite its advertising as an organization collecting funds to support people arrested in the murders of Chaney, Schwerner, and Goodman, most of the finances collected went toward the general operations of the White Knights. In late July of 1964, an FBI informant recounted the OKKKK in Monroe, Louisiana's plans to assassinate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after rumors swirled of his appearance in the city. The reaction to CORE's efforts in Louisiana from 1964 to 1965 by the Klan could have proved even more devasting. While these are horrifying, detestable accounts of violence from hate groups, there is still a message of hope that can be salvaged from them. They reside in the stories of Johnny Lee Clary and Edward L. McDaniel. Former professional wrestler turned successor of Samuel Bowers, Clary turned his life around, leaving the Klan behind and educating the FBI in white supremacist recruiting tactics. McDaniel also left the Klan, later backing Charles Evers, brother of Medgar Evers, who was murdered by a Klansman in his mayoral campaign, making Charles Evers the first black mayor in Mississippi since Reconstruction. Ephriam David Tyler: Shreveport civil rights poet born in 1884 'I count Mayor Evers as a friend now, and I have a lot of respect for the man,' said Bowers. 'We realized it is not blacks against whites, but the little folks against the big shots.' Although these two instances can serve as a source of hope for escaping this ideology, we must remember that human beings should not be used as fodder for someone's redemption story. There is a silver lining across those who imported and exported the business of hate into and out of Shreveport – they were able to exploit racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, and antisemitism for profit. The sale of robes to clothe disdain lined the pockets of a few while they sowed fear of the 'other.' Through the decades of coverage, these groups have proven their ability to adapt to the modern landscape and alter their targets accordingly. Their business model requires extremism; the deeper the animosity, the more money its leaders extract. Combating these ideologies requires community and education. In a true community, knowing and respecting one's neighbor drastically decreases the chances of hatred fomenting across any social line. LSU Shreveport's Mik Barnes took the lead on this article. Sources: Amanda Onion, 'Ku Klux Klan: Origin, Members & Facts | HISTORY,' HISTORY, April 20, 2023, 'KKK Series: Federal Bureau of Investigation.' Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI. 2019. 'Memo of November 13, 1922.' 2025. FBI. 2025. John Caldbick, 'Ku Klux Klan in Washington, 1921-1925,' March 11, 2019, David J. Chalmers, Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan, 3rd Ed., (Durham: Duke University Press, 1987), 86-87. Trevor Griffey, 'Luther I. Powell: Northwest KKK Organizer' Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, n.d. David J. Chalmers, Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan, 3rd Ed., (Durham: Duke University Press, 1987), 90. John Caldbick, 'Ku Klux Klan in Washington, 1921-1925,' March 11, 2019, David J. Chalmers, Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan, 3rd Ed., (Durham: Duke University Press, 1987), 217. The Capital Journal, Salem, Oregon, July 7, 1922, pp. 1. John Caldbick, 'Ku Klux Klan in Washington, 1921-1925,' March 11, 2019, Will Schultz, 'William Dudley Pelley (1885-1965) – North Carolina History,' North Carolina History -, April 8, 2024, Trevor Griffey, 'Luther I. Powell: Northwest KKK Organizer' Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project, n.d. The Shreveport Journal, September 10, 1935, pg. 8. 'Roy Davis – BelieveTheSign.' 2022. 2022. Tim Steller, ''The Message' Religious Sect Sprouts Destructive Groups Across Globe,' November 12, 2024, The Shreveport Times, February 10, 1961, pg 1. 'Bogalusans Face Hearing on Klan' The Daily Advertiser, January 5, 1966, The Shreveport Times, February 16, 1961, pg 6. Peter Grier, 'James Farmer, the Once and Future Freedom Rider,' The Christian Science Monitor, November 22, 1983, 'THE PRESENT-DAY KU KLUX KLAN MOVEMENT REPORT by the COMMITTEE on UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES HOUSE of REPRESENTATIVES NINETIETH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION.' 1967. Adam Fairclough. Race & Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915-1972. Athens: University Of Georgia Press, 2008, 355. 'Roy Davis – BelieveTheSign.' 2022. 2022. 'Former Klansmen tells of Bowing out in 1964' The Shreveport Times, January 5, 1966, pg 2. 'Bogalusans Face Hearing on Klan' The Daily Advertiser, January 5, 1966, Bruce Watson, Freedom Summer: The Savage Season That Made Mississippi Burn and Made America a Democracy, (Penguin, 2010), 143. Bruce Watson, Freedom Summer: The Savage Season That Made Mississippi Burn and Made America a Democracy, (Penguin, 2010), 282. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Today in History: D.W. Griffith's ‘The Birth of a Nation' premieres
Today is Saturday, Feb. 8, the 39th day of 2025. There are 326 days left in the year. Today in history: On Feb. 8, 1915, D.W. Griffith's controversial epic film 'The Birth of a Nation' premiered in Los Angeles. Also on this date: In 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. In 1693, a charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in the Virginia Colony. In 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian Navy at Port Arthur (now Dalian, China), marking the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated by William D. Boyce. In 1924, the first execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City as Gee Jon, a Chinese immigrant convicted of murder, was put to death. In 1936, the first NFL draft was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia. In 1960, work began on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles. In 1968, three Black students were killed and 28 wounded as state troopers opened fire on student demonstrators on the campus of South Carolina State College in Orangeburg in the wake of protests over a whites-only bowling alley. The event would become known as the Orangeburg Massacre. In 1971, NASDAQ, the world's first electronic stock exchange, held its first trading day. Today's birthdays: Composer-conductor John Williams is 93. Broadcast journalist Ted Koppel is 85. Actor Nick Nolte is 84. Comedian Robert Klein is 83. Actor-rock musician Creed Bratton is 82. Actor Mary Steenburgen is 72. Author John Grisham is 70. Hockey Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli is 65. Rock singer Vince Neil (Mötley Crüe) is 64. Basketball Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning is 55. Actor Seth Green is 51. Actor William Jackson Harper is 45. Actor-comedian Cecily Strong is 41. Hip-hop artist Anderson .Paak is 39. Professional surfer Bethany Hamilton is 35.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
On This Day, Feb. 8: Groundbreaking starts on Hollywood Walk of Fame
Feb. 8 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1587, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded, charged with conspiring to kill England's Queen Elizabeth I. In 1692, a doctor in Massachusetts Bay Colony said two village girls were possibly bewitched, a charge that set off the Salem witch trials. In 1693, the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., was granted a charter by Britain's King William III. In 1915, D.W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, a landmark in the history of cinema and the first American full-length motion picture, opened in Los Angeles and was immediately a smash hit though many found its treatment of race offensive. In 1933, two British Royal Air Force pilots landed at Walvis Bay, 800 miles north of Cape Town, South Africa, setting a non-stop flight record after traveling 5,175 miles from England. In 1960, groundbreaking got underway for the first plaques installed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which honored Olive Borden, Ronald Colman, Louise Fazenda, Preston Foster, Burt Lancaster, Edward Sedgwick, Ernest Torrence and Joanne Woodward. In 1974, three U.S. Skylab astronauts ended an 84-day orbital flight. In 1983, a group of gunmen stole one the world's most valuable racehorses, Shergar, from a stud farm in Ireland. The kidnappers demanded a $3.1 million ransom, but negotiations proved fruitless and the horse was never seen again. In 1993, at least 132 people were killed when a Russian-made Tupolev jetliner flying for Iran Air Tours collided with a Sukhoi military aircraft near Tehran. In 2002, the Olympic Winter Games opened in Salt Lake City. In 2007, Anna Nicole Smith, a 39-year-old actor, model and tabloid fixture, was found dead in a Hollywood, Fla., hotel. Her death was attributed to accidental sedative overdose. In 2014, snowboarding slopestyle made its debut at the Olympic Games with American Sage Kotsenburg claiming the first gold medal in the event in Sochi, Russia. In 2022, Austrian Matthias Mayer made history, becoming the first man to win alpine skiing gold in three Olympics after taking first place in the men's super-G event in Beijing. In 2024, Pakistani voters went to the polls, giving jailed Prime Minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party, or PTI, an unexpected plurality of legislative seats.
Boston Globe
08-02-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
Today in History: February 8, the Orangeburg Massacre
Advertisement In 1693, a charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in the Virginia Colony. In 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian Navy at Port Arthur (now Dalian, China), marking the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War. In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated by William D. Boyce. In 1915, D.W. Griffith's controversial epic film 'The Birth of a Nation' premiered in Los Angeles, Calif. In 1924, the first execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City as Gee Jon, a Chinese immigrant convicted of murder, was put to death. In 1936, the first NFL draft was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia. In 1960, work began on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles. In 1968, three Black students were killed and 28 wounded as state troopers opened fire on student demonstrators on the campus of South Carolina State College in Orangeburg in the wake of protests over a whites-only bowling alley. The event would become known as the Orangeburg Massacre. In 1971, NASDAQ, the world's first electronic stock exchange, held its first trading day. In 2013, a massive storm packing hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions began sweeping through the Northeast, dumping nearly 2 feet of snow on New England and knocking out power to more than a half a million customers. Advertisement
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Emilia Pérez' Director Jacques Audiard Disavows Karla Sofía Gascón But Stands Up For Film In Crucial Awards Weekend: Q&A
EXCLUSIVE: The awards prospects of Emilia Pérez's title character Karla Sofía Gascón continue to circle the drain, but the film's other Oscar nominees – including Zoe Saldaña and director/co-writer Jacques Audiard among 13 nominations received by the film — will make the rounds this weekend at industry the gatherings that build momentum in the final push to the Oscars as Netflix tries to resuscitate its chances. Gascón reportedly will not be part of the weekend's activities, but as a nominee she still gets a ticket to the Oscars, and if she comes she should not be surprise if she gets the cold shoulder from her cohorts on Emilia Pérez. In this exclusive interview with Deadline, Audiard expresses profound disappointment with Gascón's behavior, essentially disowning her for the position she has put others in, and for her continued appearances filled with half-apologies, and the hurt felt by those she targeted in her original missives. It's a reminder that as much as they would like to, film companies hold limited sway with stars in crisis moments. Advisors all around Nate Parker urged him to show contrition on shows like 60 Minutes toward the woman he was accused of sexually assaulting when he was a college student (she eventually committed suicide for reasons unknown). This was when 2018's The Birth of a Nation followed a record-setting Sundance deal and rapturous applause that established the film as and early Oscar frontrunner. More from Deadline Karla Sofía Gascón Skipping Critics Choice, PGAs & Other L.A. Awards Events Amid Controversy; Appearance At Spain's Goya Awards In Play Why Is Netflix Staying Silent On Karla Sofía Gascón? 'The Empress' Renewed For Third & Final Season At Netflix But Parker, who as a young Black man in danger of a prison sentence, watched as an all-white jury acquitted him, had strong feelings all his own. To have to endure an apology tour so many years later was difficult for Parker, who co-wrote, directed and starred in the film. He came off defiant on 60 Minutes, and it sank the film and did not create the career trajectory most thought he would experience. Gascón faces the same prospect. Awards are not so important when these things are so personal for the participants, reflective of their personal struggles to get here. One can only hope Gascón finds peace someday with the self-inflicted mistakes and what they might say about her, all of which have overtaken the good will of her emerging as a symbol of what a trans person can deliver onscreen. RELATED: Here, the French auteur Audiard discusses the burden of making a much-lauded film and now, like Saldaña, having to disavow the indefensible posts that have undone Gascón. Audiard also defends a comment he made about the Spanish language which seems to have gotten misinterpreted in the translation. The film has been dissected down to the decision to film Emilia Pérez in France rather than Mexico even though the film might not have gotten made otherwise. Emilia Pérez was acquired by Netflix at Cannes, for the U.S. and two other territories. It was sold as an indie everywhere else in the world. Because Audiard is French, the financials were much more favorable if he shot in his home country. While the rebate in Mexico would have been $1 million, the financial benefit of shooting in France was 12 times greater. That was half the film's $24 million budget, sources said. Here, Audiard sticks up for his film and everyone else who made it and are not Karla Sofía Gascón. DEADLINE: Emilia Pérez JACQUES AUDIARD: You specifically are talking about Karla Sofía and all that stuff? DEADLINE: AUDIARD: Yes. Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space, and that makes me very sad. 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. And 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. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: 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, and 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. I'm not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: Absolutely not. She's really playing the victim. She's talking about herself as a victim, which is surprising. It's as if she thought that words don't hurt. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: Well, I'm certainly going to participate, but for the moment there's something sad about it. I thought I was coming back here full of enthusiasm and now there's a sadness that we have to get past, if things aren't clear, then we need to shed light on them and we're going to have to spend time on continuing to really defend this film. I'm not alone in this business. There's Zoe. I want to and I'm going to champion and defend her. I would never let her go. There's my extraordinary crew that worked on this film, with faith and enthusiasm. There's no way I'm letting go of these people. RELATED: DEADLINE: AUDIARD: Absolutely. Just to give you a little background, I've often made films in cultures that were not those of my native language. I've made a film in Tamil, I made a Western, in English. I'm drawn to things that don't belong to the domain of my native language, and I happen to enormously love the Spanish language. I wanted to make an international film. Now, if you're going to make an international film, there's not a lot of languages that you have to choose from. There's English and there's Spanish, and Spanish is such a rich language that crosses borders. What's been said about my statement is actually exactly the opposite of what I think. I worked five years on this film and for it to now be denigrated in this way, it's really simply too much. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: What shocked me is that either people haven't seen the film properly, or they haven't seen it at all and are acting in bad faith. The representation of the cartels in the film is thematic. It's not something that I'm particularly focused on in the film. There's one scene that deals with it. The real thing that I'm interested in, that I was interested in doing, is that I wanted to make an opera. That demands a strong stylization. Well, that tends to be how opera is to have schematic elements. The psychology can be limited. Opera has psychological limitations. It seems I'm being attacked in the court of realism. Well, I've never claimed that I wanted to make a realistic work. If I wanted to make a work that was particularly documented, then I would do a documentary, but then there would be no singing and dancing. For example, I read a review where it said that night markets in Mexico City don't have photocopiers. Well, in night markets in Mexico City, one also doesn't sing and dance. You have to accept that is part of the magic here. This is an opera, not a criticism of anything about Mexico. DEADLINE: Because the film is playing theatrically in most international territories, you have done press in many countries AUDIARD: The reactions have changed. The reactions now are not the reactions that we were having earlier. As you're very right to point out, I've been working on promoting this film for a long time, since before Cannes, and the reactions that we're seeing now did not exist then and did not exist for a long time. I think the reactions around Mexico really changed around the Golden Globes, and now I can't not mention important facts like the fact that we've had many European prizes, aside from the Golden Globes. There has been this curious change in the recognition that we've gotten from the profession, the public, and then the social networks. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: Well, the reactions have changed in that initially we had a lot of favorable reactions, people who were curious to see the film, people who were very happy to have seen the film. And then at a certain point, the film started to get criticized a lot, condemned by people who may very well not have seen the film. I have to mention that I don't see reviews very much, but I've heard that some reviews have things about the film that are simply not true. Generally, I'm attacked on the question of realism, but I honestly have to say I've never been treated this way before. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: There's several ways you can see this. The first way, which is maybe my state of mind today, is that it's tiring, it's exhausting. But there's another way of looking at it, which is maybe more of the cinephile way. And that is, if a film sparks a debate, well, that gives me confidence in cinema. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: For me, cinema fundamentally does not serve to answer questions. It's not able to, because the answers are going to change every week. Its function is to ask questions. Now, these questions may be more or less pertinent, but it seems to me here that the questions are getting people talking. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: I'm going to answer you very honestly and point by point. I'm 72 years old, I'm not on any social media. And I think I may give up on my cell phone. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: Let's just talk about the financial stuff. The regret that we had, because this was a very important choice, was that we didn't make it in a studio in Mexico. And the simple reason for that is that the film funding, the public funding for film in Mexico was not as good for us as what was available, available to us in France through these extraordinary institutions, the CNC and regional film funding. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: I think we've had quite a comprehensive conversation. I just want to thank you for allowing me to express myself both on the issues that have arisen, and on cinema. DEADLINE: AUDIARD: I appreciate that and being able to explain myself. 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