As Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón continues to weather criticism for her resurfaced history of racist internet posts, the “Emilia Pérez” star has issued another apology in which she says she is “hoping” that her “silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference.” The new statement comes after Gascón’s director Jacques Audiard disavowed the best actress contender in an interview, saying that he “hasn’t spoken to her” and calling her “self-destructive.”
“Following Jacques interview that I understand, I decided, for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself, hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference,” Gascón wrote on Instagram Thursday evening. The statement captions a photograph from the Cannes premiere of “Emilia Pérez,” with Gascón holding hands with her co-stars. “I sincerely apologize to everyone who has been hurt along the way.”
Up to this point, “silence” has not been the strategy for Gascón in fielding her controversy. Last week, culture writer Sarah Hagi uncovered numerous offensive posts made by the actress over recent years, including anti-Muslim hate speech, a thread about the murder of George Floyd and racist jabs about diversity at the Oscars.
As the backlash grew against Gascón, the “Emilia Pérez” star elected to participate in a CNN en Español interview — without consulting Netflix or PR firm The Lede Company, which had been helping to steer the film’s awards campaign. Variety later reported that the streamer is no longer covering expenses for Gascón’s travel to awards shows or her styling for any appearances at these events.
“I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to,” Audiard told Deadline Wednesday. “She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why? I don’t understand it, and what I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her.”
“Emilia Pérez” is the most-nominated film at this year’s Oscars, with 13 nominations including nods for best picture, best director for Audiard best actress for Gascón and Zoe Saldaña for supporting actress.
