“Emilia Pérez” star and historic Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón will attend the Academy Awards after the recent resurfacing of her racist tweets, and the film’s distributor Netflix will foot the bill.
Insiders confirmed to Variety on Monday that the 52-year-old Spanish actress — who made history last month as the first openly transgender performer nominated for an Oscar — will attend this Sunday’s 97th Academy Awards.
It has not yet been decided whether the titular star will walk the red carpet, take part in interviews or sit amongst the cast of the Best Picture nominee — including Best Supporting Actress nominee Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Best Director contender Jacques Audiard.
“Emilia Pérez” centers on a cartel leader (Gascón) who fakes her death to live authentically as a trans woman, leaving behind her wife (Gomez) and young family. Emilia’s new life is facilitated in no small part by a lawyer (Saldaña), with whom she later works to try and right the wrongs of her criminal past.
Despite its awards season stature, the musical — which has been tapped for 13 Oscars, the most of any film this season — has long been controversial, for its portrayal of both Mexican culture and the transgender community.
Even so, “Emilia Pérez” picked up the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy, making it a frontrunner for a Best Picture Oscar. That is, until Gascón’s disturbing tweets resurfaced, including one from 2020 suggesting a ban against Islam.
In another post, Gascón referred to George Floyd as “a drug addict and a hustler” and, in another, reportedly invoked Hitler with regard to racial and gender inequality.
In a lengthy statement to The Hollywood Reporter, Gascón apologized if she “offended” anyone with the tweets, some of which she explained away due to “ignorance or pure mistake.”
Noting that she is “a human being who also made, makes and will make mistakes from which I will learn,” Gascón said she has fought on behalf of “each and every one of the minorities in this world and supported freedom of religion.”
Gascón subsequently skipped several awards ceremonies where she was nominated, including this weekend’s Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Saldaña told Variety earlier this month she’s “sad” and “disappointed” about the controversy.
“I can’t speak for other people’s actions. All I can attest to is my experience, and never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here,” Saldaña told the outlet’s “Awards Circuit” podcast.