
Oscar-nominated transgender actress Karla Sofía Gascón has apologized for recently unearthed social media posts on X (formerly Twitter) containing racist, anti-Muslim, and homophobic views. Gascón deleted several of the tweets, which date from between 2019 and 2021, after Muslim Canadian journalist Sarah Hagi revealed them.
Gascón made history in 2023 by becoming the first-ever trans star to receive a Best Actress Academy Award nomination. She played the titular star in Emilia Pérez, a Netflix dramatic musical about a Mexican drug lord who comes out as trans.
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The Spanish actress dedicated the award to “all trans people who suffer so much and must keep faith that changing is possible.”
In one post, she wrote, “New attack in France, beheadings in Nice by now of these r**arded followers of Allah. How many time will we have to expel these madmen from Europe until we realize their religion in INCOMPATIBLE with Western values. We do not learn. Thank you [anti-LGBTQ+ Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan.”
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In another post, she sarcastically wrote, “Islam is marvelous, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves. Although they dress this way for their own enjoyment. How DEEPLY DISGUSTING OF HUMANITY.”
In a post commenting on photos showing genderfluid and pansexual pop singer Miley Cyrus kissing reality TV personality Kaitlynn Carter, Gascón wrote, “evil, horrible, unnatural, lesbian perversion, they are going to hell.”
A 2020 post published days after Black Minneapolis man George Floyd was killed by a police officer, sparking anti-racism protests worldwide, she wrote, “I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys Without rights and consider policemen to be assassins. They’re all wrong.”
A 2021 post of hers commenting on that year’s Oscars states, “More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films, I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala.”
it’s so insane that karla sofía gascón still has these tweets up. straight up have never seen tweets this racist from someone actively campaigning to win an ACADEMY AWARD. there are more than a dozen… pic.twitter.com/1rcNzkJXuo
— sarah hagi (@KindaHagi) January 30, 2025
In an apology issued to Variety, Gascón wrote, “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. 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.”
Emilia Pérez received 13 Academy Award nominations, making it the most-nominated film of the year and the Oscars’ most-nominated international feature ever. Gascón made history in May 2024 by winning the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Actress award, the first time the festival’s jury ever gave the honor to a trans woman.
After the award was announced, French far-right politician Marion Maréchal blasted Gascón’s win in a transphobic X post misgendering her.
“I’ve decided not to get into controversy with anyone,” Gascón wrote in an Instagram post after Maréchal’s comment.
“I’ve been battling on the front line for too long, now I’m just going to let my work do the talking,” she added. “For the moment there you have this PALM OF GOLD TO A WOMAN, AN ACTRESS who gives all her soul in every job.”
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