Trans star of 'Emilia Pérez' delivers powerful speech at Golden Globes: 'I am who I am'

"Emilia Pérez" was the big winner at Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, picking up four trophies including best comedy or musical.

The film's trans star, Karla Sofía Gascón, tearfully took the podium to accept the prize at the end of the night.

"I chose these colors tonight, the Buddhist colors, because I have a message for you: The light always wins over darkness," Gascón said on stage. "You can maybe put us in jail. You can beat us up, but you never can take away our soul, our existence, our identity.

"And I want to say to you: Raise your voice for freedom," she continued. "I am who I am, not who you want. Thank you so much."

Directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, "Emilia Pérez" is an unconventional movie musical about a Mexican drug lord (Gascón) who undergoes gender affirmation surgery. Selena Gomez co-stars as her disgruntled wife, while Zoe Saldaña plays a high-powered lawyer who befriends the ex-kingpin.

In addition to winning the Globes' top award, "Emilia" also picked up hardware for best non-English language film, best supporting actress (Saldana) and best original song ("El Mal").

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The Spanish-language movie is a breakout moment for Gascón, 52, who transitioned in 2018 after years spent acting in Mexican telenovelas. Speaking to USA TODAY last fall, she described her initial fears about coming out as a woman, worrying that she may lose acting jobs as a result.

"I was at the border of suicide," Gascón says. "I always thought I was going to have to give up this work that I love and that I would end up on the streets."

Gascón won the best actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival in France last May, which she shared with co-stars Saldaña, Gomez and Adriana Paz. She's gone on to pick up nominations from the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards for best actress, but says she continues to encounter transphobic remarks online and in the media.

"There was a moment where I had to confront a lot of people in the industry and in my personal life," Gascón says. "I don't know why, but there are people that take a lot of joy in destroying other people's lives. Even now, there are still people who write horrible things to me. In France, there was a whole campaign against me when I received the (Cannes) award. There are people who think they can destroy others whom they consider weak, but they found their match with me. I'm a warrior."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Karla Sofía Gascon? 'Emilia Perez' star wows at Golden Globes