Karla Sofia Gascón faces backlash over resurfaced racist tweets amid oscar controversy
Karla Sofia Gascón, the Oscar-nominated star of Emilia Pérez, is facing mounting backlash after historic and recent posts on social media resurfaced, targeting Muslims, George Floyd, and Oscar diversity.
The 52-year-old actor, who made history as the first openly trans person to be nominated in the Best Actress category, has come under fire in the lead-up to the Academy Awards on 2 March. Gascón, who rose to international fame with Netflix’s critically divisive musical about a Mexican drug lord who transitions into a woman, is now at the centre of controversy due to her past remarks.
Culture critic sarah Hagi recently shared screenshots of Gascón’s old tweets, which included Islamophobic comments, dismissals of the black lives matter movement, and criticisms of increasing diversity at the oscars. One post from november 2020 expressed concern about the number of Muslims in Spain, while another mocked the burqa. In August 2021, she condemned multiple religions, branding their followers as “morons that violate human rights.”
Further controversy arose from a resurfaced post regarding George Floyd, in which she called him a “drug addict swindler,” while also criticising both racist views and those who labelled police officers as murderers. Another tweet from the 2021 oscars ceremony mocked the increasing diversity of the awards, describing it as an “Afro-korean festival” and likening it to a black lives matter protest.
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The backlash has been swift, with many social media users calling for her nomination to be rescinded. “Curious about how the Emilia Pérez cast and Academy voters will respond to Karla Sofia Gascón’s Islamophobic and vile tweets,” one user posted. Another wrote, “Sorry, but this woman doesn’t deserve an oscar.”
Amidst the controversy, Gascón has also faced scrutiny for her comments about fellow nominee Fernanda Torres. In an interview with folha de S. paulo, she accused Torres’ team of undermining Emilia Pérez. However, she later clarified that her comments were directed at toxic social media discourse rather than Torres herself, whom she described as a “wonderful woman and an amazing actress.”
The 2025 Oscars have been mired in controversy, with wildfires in Los Angeles delaying nominations and figures such as Stephen King calling for the event to be cancelled. The ceremony has also faced issues related to AI use in The brutalist and the lack of an intimacy coordinator during the filming of Anora.
The academy, netflix, and Gascón’s representatives have yet to comment on the controversy. The oscars will take place on sunday, 2 march.
