*Courtesy of Monica Schipper/WireImage.*

Karla Sofía Gascón is currently embroiled in a controversy involving several offensive and discriminatory tweets that have resurfaced. These tweets, dating from 2016 to 2021, contain remarks that are racist, Islamophobic, and dismissive of the Black Lives Matter movement. In particular, her comments about the Oscars being akin to an "Afro-Korean festival" and disparaging remarks about George Floyd and the Muslim community have sparked significant backlash.

In response to the growing criticism, Gascón has issued multiple apologies, acknowledging the hurt caused by her statements and expressing regret. She has also deleted her social media account on X (formerly known as Twitter) to stem the tide of negative reactions and to protect her family from a campaign of hate and misinformation she claims has been directed against her.

This controversy is especially poignant given Gascón's recent nomination for an Academy Award, making her the first openly transgender actor nominated in the Best Actress category. The backlash could potentially impact her chances at the Oscars and her future in Hollywood, where sensitivity to diversity and inclusion has become increasingly important.

Gascón’s co-star, Zoe Saldaña, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2025 Academy Awards, addressed the scandal for the first time at a Q&A session in London:

“I’m still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I’m sad,” Saldaña said. “It makes me really sad because I don’t support and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group. I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part of this film, and my experience and my interactions with them were about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural, and gender equity. And it just saddens me.”

Gascón recently gave an interview with CNN in hopes of clarifying the outrage from the public and in-hopes of saving her Best Actress Oscar chances:

“I feel and very much identify with the people who were thrown off buses for the color of their skin, with the people who did not want them to study at university, for the people who were hated simply for existing, like how I am hated in this moment,” Gascón said.

The actress also said she has a “relationship with a wonderful woman who is a Muslim who has taught her about respect and to understand perhaps better than in the past,” and that she has been “100%” supported by her.

“I have not stopped receiving hate, death threats, insults, abuses. I have not seen anyone who has come out, in any media, any space, any place, raise their hand for me and say, ‘Hey, what is happening with this person who you are massacring?’ And no one, no one has lifted a single finger for change,” she continued.

When asked by CNN about her tweet where she commented on George Floyd who was murdered at the hands of police in 2020 (Gascón called him a “drug addict and a hustler [Floyd]”), Gascón responded that she treats social media as a “diary” with “reflections as opposed to something that can influence someone, because before being here my post was viewed by three people.”

The actress noted that she is a supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, and claims she wrote the tweet in order to point out others’ racist commentary.

See the full interview here: CNN

Gascón made history by becoming the first openly trans woman nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars.

TRENDING NEWS