Bill Maher Says “Cancel Culture” Is To Blame For ‘Emilia Pérez’ Oscars Snub

Bill Maher once again put “cancel culture” on blast during a conversation on Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday with David Sedaris.

The HBO host and comedian emphasized that the concept of “cancel culture” has evolved and pointed out that the Karla Sofía Gascón scandal had a significant impact on Emilia Pérez’s loss at the Oscars, calling it “good news for Anora.”

Maher remarked, “There are people who say cancel culture isn’t a real thing and I would say to them, ‘It just happened at the Oscars.’” He continued, “You may not think it happened, but the movie that was going to win it all was Emilia Pérez.”

Maher noted that “Hollywood loved” the idea of having a trans person win the Best Actress category and make history.

He also mentioned that after reading Gascón’s tweets, he felt they resembled something “a little child” might write. He added, “It was a little Kanye-esque, just whatever’s on the brain comes out.”

Commenting on the content of Gascón’s tweets, Maher advised, “Just don’t mention Hitler. I feel like it never comes out good.” He went on to acknowledge that while some of Gascón’s remarks were “very, very honest,” they were too extreme for the “woke community.”

Maher continued, “And this movie, that was going to win it all, it was the front-runner, and she was going to get all… suddenly was out to lunch. And good news for Anora. That’s what happened. So yes, cancel culture is still with us. It may just be a little more subtle.”

Despite the controversy, Gascón attended the Oscars, although she had previously skipped most award shows following the fallout over resurfaced social media posts where she made offensive comments about Muslims and the Black Lives Matter movement.

After facing public backlash, Gascón issued an apology, saying, “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.”

Anora ended up taking home the night’s top awards, including Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay, and Film Editing. Mikey Madison won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Anora, while Gascón was competing in that same category. Emilia Pérez, which had led with 13 Oscar nominations, did win an award when Zoe Saldaña received the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

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