Recently, Oscar-nominated actress Karla Sofía Gascón was caught in controversy when past tweets of her making insensitive and tone-deaf comments on China, George Floyd, Islam, and diversity at the Oscars resurfaced. In addition, an old post revealed Gascón badmouthing her Emilia Pérez co-star Selena Gomez.
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Now, in an interview with Deadline, Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard called the 52-year-old actress’ actions “inexcusable”. “It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía. The trust we shared, the exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set that was indeed based on trust. And when you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected. It’s as if you fall into a hole,” he said.
Audiard also revealed that he has put in no effort to reach out to Gascón since her old tweets came to light. “I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to. She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why? I don’t understand it,” the director questioned.
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Continuing, he said, “What I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her. I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us,” referencing the ongoing Oscars campaign for the film.
Audiard also talked about her staunch victim mentality, saying, “She’s really playing the victim. She’s talking about herself as a victim, which is surprising. It’s as if she thought that words don’t hurt.”
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Audiard’s Emilia Pérez leads the Oscars race with 13 nods, including Best Picture. Gascón is the first openly transgender actor to be nominated for Best Actress in the award show’s history, marking a significant milestone for the Academy. As the controversy continues, it seems unlikely that Gascón will win the Oscar, as final voting for the coveted gold statue will take place on February 11.
