Oscar-nominated actress Karla Sofía Gascón apologizes for old social media posts

Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón, who starred in the Oscar-nominated film Emilia Pérez, is facing a backlash after old, derogatory posts on X, formerly Twitter, resurfaced Thursday morning.

Many of the posts, which were written in Spanish and shared by writer Sarah Hagi in a series of screenshots with Google translations on X, directly vilify Muslims. One post calls Islam a “hotbed of infection for humanity.” Another claims that Islam is “incompatible with Western values.”

The dates of the tweets range from 2016 to the early 2020s. Gascón deactivated her account on X after online users resurfaced the posts.

In a statement to TheWrap, Sue Obeidi, the director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council’s Hollywood bureau, said she was disturbed by the posts.

“Deleted or not, these tweets are hurtful, offensive, and shocking, most especially coming from someone who is a member of another vulnerable community. Muslims are part of every community, including the transgender community,” Obeidi said.

Other posts from Gascón that resurfaced online attacked China, referring to COVID vaccines as “the Chinese vaccine, [which] apart from the mandatory chip, comes with two spring rolls, a cat that moves its hand, 2 plastic flowers, a pop-up lantern, 3 telephone lines and one euro for your first controlled purchase.”

In another resurfaced thread, Gascón comments on the 2020 murder of George Floyd, claiming that very few people cared about him. She also calls Floyd a “drug addict swindler.”

“This is all from the star of a movie that is campaigning on its progressive values,” Hagi, who first shared the anti-Islam tweets on X, said on the platform.

Gascón, 52, plays a trans cartel boss as the titular character in Netflix’s Emilia Pérez. She made Oscars history as the first openly trans actress nominated for an Academy Award.

“I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt,” Gascón said in a statement from Netflix. “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.”