Washington (US), March 22: Mexican actress Karla Sofia Gascon has spoken out after a Twitter controversy derailed her Oscar aspirations for her role in Emilia Perez. In a recent event promoting her biographical book Lo que queda de mi (What’s Left of Me), Gascon shared her feelings about the backlash stemming from her past social media posts.
Gascon, who was on track to make history as the first openly transgender actress to win an Academy Award, saw her chances diminish after journalist Sarah Hagi uncovered offensive tweets from 2016. The posts, which contained derogatory comments about Islam, George Floyd, and the LGBTQ+ community, sparked widespread outrage and led to a significant backlash against Gascon.
In her recent statements, Gascon hinted at a deliberate effort to sabotage her Oscar campaign. “It’s clear that there was a campaign against me and that they kept going until they got what they were after,” she said in an interview, according to Deadline.
Gascon’s responses to the controversy have been inconsistent, ranging from apologies to defiance. When asked if she believed she had been forgiven for her past tweets, she replied, “No one has to forgive me for anything. If anyone feels offended by things I may have done in my life, let them come and tell me.”
The actress also rejected accusations that she is far-right or racist, emphasizing her long history of fighting against discrimination. “When I was young, I used to fight with skinheads … When someone comes up to me and I ask them: ‘But what is it about me that offends you?’, no one can come up with anything or tell me anything.”Initially distancing itself from Gascon following the backlash, Netflix later invited her to its Oscars party. The streaming giant has never publicly addressed her controversial tweets, with Netflix’s Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria simply calling the situation a “bummer” for the film’s campaign. In a more recent interview, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos expressed his openness to working with Gascon again, stating, “You have to have some grace when people make mistakes. And we have grace.”