Karla Sofía Gascón Refutes Negative Post About “Emilia Pérez” Costar Selena Gomez: 'I Would Never Refer to Her That Way'

Karla Sofía Gascón is insisting she never insulted her Emilia Pérez costar Selena Gomez on social media.

After several of Gascón's old X posts resurfaced, drawing allegations of racism and Islamophobia, the Academy Award-nominated actress, 52, sat down with CNN en Español for an emotional interview. In the hour-long discussion, which aired Feb. 2, Gascón's apologized for the old posts — but maintained that the alleged comments about Gomez, 32, were fabricated.

Addressing the controversial tweet, in which she reportedly called Gomez a "rich rat" amid the performer's rumored feud with Hailey Bieber, Gascón told CNN, “It’s not mine, of course.”

According to The Latin Times, the alleged post says in full: “She's a rich rat who plays the poor b------ whenever she can and will never stop bothering her ex-boyfriend and his wife," referring to Gomez's ex Justin Bieber and wife Hailey,

Gascón, however, insists that those words did not come from her. “I have never said anything about my colleague," she told CNN. "I would never refer to her that way.”

PEOPLE has previously reached out to both Gomez and Gascón for comment.

Related: Emilia Pérez's Karla Sofía Gascón Clarifies Comment About Fellow Best Actress Oscar Nominee Fernanda Torres

In her tearful CNN interview, Gascón also suggested that the allegedly fake post may have been an attempt to purposefully damage her Oscar campaign amid the ongoing voting period — a claim that came after she revealed that she would not be exiting the award-show race.

People "have dedicated themselves to searching, to put together all the things that I had said at a time that I had written — most of which are false … most of them I don’t even recognize that I wrote them,” the star claimed. “And they put them all together and so it seems that she is a very bad person and we remove her just when we can do the most damage, right in the voting period.”

Discussing her decision to stay in the Oscar race despite the backlash for her controversial posts about Muslim culture, George Floyd, diversity at the Oscars and more, Gascón told CNN, "I cannot renounce a nomination because what I have done is a job and what is being valued is my acting work," per a translation by The Hollywood Reporter.

"I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime, nor have I harmed anyone,” she continued. “I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am.”

And, addressing her resurfaced posts in a Jan. 30 statement to PEOPLE, Gascón said: “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.”

Related: Emilia Pérez: Why This Year's Most-Nominated Film Is Also the Most Controversial Oscar Contender

Gascón’s Emilia Pérez costar Zoe Saldaña discussed the controversy surrounding the actress at a recent Q&A in London.

“I’m still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I’m sad,” Saldaña, 46, said at the Jan. 31 event, per THR. “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.”

“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,” Saldaña continued. “And it just saddens me.”

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Gascón is nominated in the Best Actress Oscar category for her role in Emilia Pérez alongside Cynthia Erivo, Mikey Madison, Demi Moore and Fernanda Torres. The Netflix musical is up for 13 awards total (including Best Picture and Best Director for Jacques Audiard) at the March 2 ceremony, making it the most-nominated film of the year.

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