Netflix drops 'Emilia Perez' star Oscar bid over offensive posts

5 February 2025, 12:46

Netflix has ended its bid to get Emilia Perez star Karla Sofia Gascon an Oscar over her offensive social media posts, according to reports.

The star, 52, is in the running for Best Actress award at the upcoming Oscars for her turn as a transgender crime boss in Jacques Audiard’s divisive musical.

However, over the past week, her award bid has been derailed over backlash to a slew od offensive tweets she made over the past year, including mocking George Floyd, Muslims and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gascon has issued a series of apologies for the posts, going as far as to appear in an hour-long interview with CNN en Español - breaking down in tears and repeating “I’m not a racist.”

But her attempts to garner favour have seemingly been in vain, with Netflix reportedly removing her from promotional emails and planning to make Gascon’s co-star Zoe Saldana more prominent on the film’s poster.

Read more: Emilia Perez star Karla Sofia Gascon says sorry after controversial old tweets resurface

Gascon is also unlikely to travel to Los Angeles this week for the pre-Oscars promotional campaign.

Old posts from Gascon's X account, which got as far back as 2016, resurfaced last month.

In the posts, she took aim at Muslims' dress, language and culture in her native Spain. She suggested that Islam should be banned.

Screenshots of the now-deleted posts were shared by writer Sarah Hagi, who said: "This is all from the star of a movie that is campaigning on its progressive values, you really gotta laugh.

"Stuff like this doesn't get flagged because you can say whatever you want about Muslims, it's never considered racist. Again, this isn't even all of them."

There were also remarks regarding the killing of George Floyd less than a month after his death.

She claimed that "very few people ever cared" about him, labelling him "a drug addict swindler".

Gascon has made history as the first transgender performer to be up for an Oscar for best actress.

She was a regular in Mexican telenovelas before her transition in 2018.

Sharing a statement in response to the posts, she said: "As someone in a marginalised 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."

Emilia Perez is up for 13 awards at this year's Oscars.

It has proven to be very popular throughout the awards season, having already won four Golden Globes, including best motion picture - musical or comedy.