Spanish actress Karla Sofia Gascon poses during a photocall for the film “Emilia Perez” at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 19, 2024. (Photo by Valery HACHE / AFP) (Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images)
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Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón sparked backlash after a wide range of offensive tweets were dug up on X (formerly Twitter), prompting the actress to post an apology.
It’s been some time since a celebrity was “cancelled” over old tweets, but this wasn’t a case of a teenager posting tasteless jokes—few minorities were spared by Gascón’s vitriolic posts, and there were so many that X users couldn’t help but express bafflement at her apparent dedication to offend.
What Did Karla Sofía Gascón’s Offensive Tweets Say?
Writer Sarah Hagi first uncovered Gascón’s tweets disparaging Muslims, which were largely posted between 2020 and 2021.
One post read, “Islam is becoming a hotbed for infection for humanity that urgently needs to be cured.”
This was just the beginning, as Variety began to uncover more old tweets and translate them into English.
In a post about the 2021 Oscars, Gascón wrote: “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. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala.”
A tweet posted during the COVID-19 pandemic reads, “The Chinese vaccine, apart from the mandatory chip, comes with two spring rolls, a cat that moves its hand, 2 plastic flowers, a pop-up lantern, 3 telephone lines and one euro for your first controlled purchase.”
In another post, Gascón body-shamed Adele, writing, “COVID passed, and she went overboard with the sleeves, or she went under the knife and they didn’t remove the skin from her arms.”
Gascón is the first openly trans actor to be nominated for an Academy Award. Many commentators pointed out that a major theme of Emilia Pérez is that being a member of an oppressed minority does not stop one from being an oppressor.
One of Gascón’s posts even contained a homophobic comment about Miley Cyrus, despite Gascón being in a lesbian relationship.
Once the backlash started growing, Gascón’s tweets began to be deleted. Many were confused that Netflix or Gascón’s PR team had not taken the time to delete the tweets before her Oscar campaign.
Karla Sofía Gascón Apologized For Her Tweets
In the wake of the controversy, Gascón released an apology.
“I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt,” she said. “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.”
Some commentators were not impressed by the apology.
Faced with such a wide range of bigoted tweets, many users cracked jokes, finding humor in a bleak situation.
Hours after her apology, Gascón deleted her account on X (Twitter).
‘Emilia Pérez’ Has Sparked Many Controversies
This is far from the first controversy related to Emilia Pérez—the film has been nominated for no less than 13 Oscars, but has been criticized for clumsy and offensive representation.
Emilia Pérez is a musical which tells the story of a cartel boss transitioning into a woman. Out-of-context Emilia Pérez clips have previously gone viral on X, with commentators poking fun at the film’s odd tone.
Emilia Pérez has been accused of perpetuating offensive Mexican stereotypes, while advocacy group Glaad called it “a profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman.”
Before the tweet storm was uncovered, Gascón sparked controversy for criticizing the social media team involved with I’m Still Here star Fernanda Torres.
“I have never, at any point, said anything bad about Fernanda Torres or her movie,” Gascón said. “However, there are people working with Fernanda Torres tearing me and Emilia Pérez down. That speaks more about their movie than mine.”
Update: Gascón followed up with a lengthy statement, sent to The Hollywood Reporter. It reads:
“I’m sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect neither my family nor me anymore, so at their request I am closing my account on X. I have been threatened with death, insulted, abused and harassed to the point of exhaustion.”
She concludes, “But I tell you something: ‘The more you try to sink me, the stronger it will make me. The greater the victory will be.’ Please forgive me once again if any of my words hurt you.”
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