Karla Sofía Gascón, the Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez star who has been at the center of this season’s biggest Oscar scandal, resurfaced on Sunday at the Academy Awards—making one of her first public appearances in weeks.
Gascón appeared to skip the red carpet—and the press that lined it—emerging inside the auditorium just as the show was about to begin. She wore a long, black, beaded gown and side swept hair, taking a seat in front of her Emilia Pérez costar Selena Gomez.
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In the weeks leading up to the event, it was unclear if the Spanish actress, who became the first openly trans performer ever nominated for an acting Academy Award, would attend the Oscars 2025 after a social media firestorm erupted following several old racist and Islamophobic posts being unearthed from her X account.
Gascón initially apologized for the posts, which she had written in Spanish and were translated in a viral thread by writer-podcaster Sarah Hagi. “As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain,” Gascón said in her first public apology. “All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”
But Gascón, who plays a transgender Mexican cartel leader in the film, went on to do several other interviews and write social media posts in which she vacillated between apologizing and defending herself. “I have been judged, condemned, sacrificed, crucified, and stoned without a trial and without the option to defend myself,” Gascón said in one such interview, parts of which were translated from Spanish by CNN.
Before the scandal, Emilia Pérez had been lauded with critical praise. Its stars, including Gascón, won the acting prize at the Cannes Film Festival; the film itself won the Golden Globe for best musical/comedy. Along with Gascón’s nod, Emilia Pérez earned 12 other Oscar nominations, including best picture, best international feature, and two song nominations. Though the movie secured the most nominations of any film this year, its best picture hopes were dashed after the scandal. But at least one nominee from the film has weathered the storm: It is expected that Zoe Saldaña will win the supporting actress award.
Others involved with the movie spoke out about the controversy soon after it erupted. Saldaña said at a panel in London that she was “still processing” everything, but added that she does not support the sentiments that have come out in Gascón’s old posts. “I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group,” she said.
Her costar Selena Gomez also weighed in when asked about the scandal, saying “some of the magic has disappeared, but I choose to continue to be proud of what I’ve done, and I’m just—I’m just grateful. I live with no regrets.” Director Jacques Audiard, meanwhile, revealed he has distanced himself and Gascón. “I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to,” he said in an interview. “She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing.”
After her costars and director spoke out, Gascón, who had shut down her X account, announced on Instagram that she would not be posting or doing any more interviews, saying she hoped “my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference.” And she did just that, laying low until two days before the Oscars, when she did a warmup appearance at the Cesar Awards ceremony in Paris—but avoided doing any interviews there. Her attendance at the Oscars will finally wrap up what’s been one of the most tumultuous roads for any nominee.
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