Karla Sofía Gáscon Steps Away From ‘Emilia Pérez’ Oscar Campaign

Oscar voting doesn't end until February 18, but I think it's safe to say that Karla Sofía Gáscon will not be taking home the Academy Award for Best Actress. Granted, the Emilia Pérez star, the first openly trans performer nominated for the Oscar, wasn't exactly a front-runner—even before fans and critics unearthed Karla Sofía Gáscon's old racist, offensive tweets. But how will Karla's controversies affect Emilia Pérez's Oscar chances? That remains to be seen.

After a report from The Hollywood Reporter suggested that Netflix was growing weary of including Karla in the film's Oscar campaign going forward, the controversial actor has announced plans to step back from the press.

"I decided for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself, hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference," she wrote in a new Instagram post shared on Thursday, February 6. She also apologized "to everyone who has been hurt along the way."

Wondering how we got here? Here's everything you need to know about Karla Sofía Gáscon's controversial tweets and what it means for Emilia Pérez's Oscar chances.

Karla Is Accused of Violating Oscar Rules

Karla first found herself in hot water in the last week of January after statements she made about the Best Actress Oscar race seemed to accuse social media teams working with fellow-nominee Fernanda Torres of "trying to diminish" her work and that of the Emilia Pérez crew.

"What I don't like are social media teams—people who work with these people—trying to diminish our work, like me and my movie, because that doesn't lead anywhere," she said in a Spanish-language interview, as reported by Variety. "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 Pérez down. That speaks more about their movie than mine."

Karla quickly walked back these accusations after fans pointed out that such comments could go against Academy rules, which prevent nominees from sharing "misleading or false information about a motion picture, performance, or achievement" and state that one cannot "discourage members to vote for any motion picture, performance, or achievement."

In a statement to Variety, Karla claimed that she was not speaking about anyone "directly associated" with Torres or her film, I'm Still Here, adding, "I was referencing the toxicity and violent hate speech on social media that I sadly continue to experience." Her statement, coupled with the fact that she didn't say anything negative about Torres' performance or nomination, were enough to put this controversy to bed—for a few hours. Then the tweets started coming out...

Karla's Offensive Tweets Are Uncovered

Karla might not have broke any Oscar rules, but she upset fans enough that they started digging through her X, formerly Twitter, account. And what they found was much more damning. As first resurfaced by journalist Sarah Hagi, Karla's account was reportedly full of offensive, racist, and Islamophobic tweets.

Among her reported statements (which were translated from Spanish), one called George Floyd "a drug addict swindler." Another commented on the 2021 Oscars ceremony, when winners included Nomadland, Minari, and Judas and the Black Messiah, saying that watching these films be awarded felt like "watching an Afro-Korean festival" or "a Black Lives Matter demonstration." She also reportedly tweeted frequently about Islam, calling it "a hotbed of infection," among other things.

After an evening of her tweets going viral, Karla deleted her account and issued a non-apology statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "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," the statement, translated from Spanish by the outlet, began. "I have been threatened with death, insulted, abused, and harassed to the point of exhaustion."

In the statement, Karla seemed to imply that her past tweets don't reflect her current beliefs, noting that she "used social media as a diary, reflections or notes, to later create stories or characters." She continued, "I have defended each and every one of the minorities in this world and supported freedom of religion and any action against racism and homophobia in the same way that I have criticized the hypocrisy that underlies them, because the first thing I am critical of is myself."

Karla then suggested that this was part of an orchestrated campaign against her, saying there was "something very dark behind it," and claiming that critics were "taking my words out of context or manipulating them to hurt me." And while she apologized "if I have ever offended anyone," she maintained that she was not responsible for "what others say I say or what others interpret from what I say."

Karla Will Not to Withdraw from the Oscars

Of course, this non-apology didn't do much to quiet Karla's critics. The actor tried again to do some damage control with an interview on CNN on February 3. "I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime, nor have I harmed anyone. I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am," Karla told the network.

She also expressed her frustration at what she views as a lack of opportunity to defend herself, saying, "I have been judged, condemned, sacrificed, crucified, and stoned without a trial and without the option to defend myself."

Karla went on to claim that she didn't "recognize" some of the resurfaced tweets and flat out denied ever writing about Selena Gomez after a supposed old tweet surfaced in which she reportedly called Selena "a rich rat," saying, "It's not mine, of course."

As for tweets she admits to writing, Karla insisted that they were taken out of context in a separate Instagram statement. "They have created [posts] as if it were me insulting even my colleagues, things I wrote to glorify as if they were criticism, jokes as if they were reality, words that without the background only seem hate," she wrote, per Instagram's translation.

Emilia Pérez Cast and Crew React to Karla's Tweets

Zoe Saldaña, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress, began separating her Oscar campaign from Karla early on in the controversy. "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," Zoe said at a Q&A for the film in London just a few days after the tweets went viral, per The Hollywood Reporter.

She did not attempt to defend her costar, but continued, "I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part of this film and my experience and my interactions with them was about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural, and gender equity." Karla was originally slated to attend the event but pulled out last minute.

Following Karla's CNN interview (but prior to her announcing that she would cease commenting on the matter publicly), Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard told Deadline that what Karla had written was inexcusable. "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 said.

What Karla's Tweets Mean for Emilia Pérez's Oscar Chances

As previously noted, Karla is currently on the outs with Netflix. According to THR, Karla's CNN interview was done completely on her own, without prior knowledge or consent from the Netflix awards PR team, and communications between the actor and the Netflix team are reportedly only going through Karla's agent, Jeremy Barber. Needless to say, Karla's chances at winning Best Actress are pretty non-existent. Whether or not that is hypocritical considering the Academy is poised to give an Oscar to Adrien Brody, who maybe got banned from SNL after doing a racist bit on national TV, you can decide for yourself.

Unfortunately, this could affect Karla's Emilia Pérez costar and Best Supporting Actress frontrunner, Zoe Saldaña. In the wake of Karla's damage control press tour, Variety changed its official Oscars prediction for the category from Zoe to Ariana Grande, suggesting that Zoe might end up being collateral damage.

Emilia Pérez's Best Picture odds could also be at risk. Should Netflix continue focusing its Emilia Pérez Oscar campaign on the historic nature of her nomination and the film's political implications (especially in the midst of a second Trump presidency), it could cause voters to second-guess giving it the top prize. Why risk awarding an already controversial film with the night's highest honor? Especially because it would likely give her a chance to speak on a global stage (as she did when Emilia Pérez won Best Picture Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes).

Whether or not Karla will attend the Oscars is TBD, though I'm guessing the most likely outcome will be that she will attend, courtesy of Netflix, but skip the red carpet and any and all interviews. It's for the best.

You Might Also Like

• Here’s What NOT to Wear to a Wedding

• Meet the Laziest, Easiest Acne Routine You’ll Ever Try