Emilia Perez star Karla SofÃa Gascón under fire over Islamophobic and racist comments [Getty]
Karla SofÃa Gascón, the Spanish actress nominated for an Oscar for her role in the movie Emilia Pérez, is under fire after past tweets by her containing Islamophobic and racially insensitive remarks resurfaced
Gascón, who made history as the first openly transgender actress to receive an acting nomination at the Oscars, has since deleted the controversial posts, which were uncovered by users on social media.
The tweets include inflammatory statements about Islam and George Floyd. In one of them she used offensive language about Muslims in France following an attack in the country, calling for the entire Muslim population to be expelled.
“New attack in France, beheaded in Nice for one of these retarded followers of Allah. How many times will we have to expel these fanatics from Europe until we realise their religion is incompatible with Western values? We don’t learn. Thank you, Erdogan,” one comment said;
In another post from 2016, she described Islam as “becoming a hotspot of infection for humanity that needs to be cured urgently”.
it’s so insane that karla sofÃa 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
Further criticism arose from a post where Gascón made troubling comments about Muslim women who wear the niqab.
The 52-year-old said: “Islam is wonderful, without any kind of sexism. Women need to be respected and when she is respected a lot, they leave her with a little square on her face so that her eyes and mouth can be seen, but if she behaves. But they dress up like this for pleasure. What a DEEP DISGUSTING HUMANITY.”
The actress also made derogatory comments about the Moroccan Spanish community, once again calling for them to be expelled en masse.
Gascón tweeted: “How many times history would have to expel the Moors from Spain… we have not yet realised what this threat of civilisations means, which constantly attacks the freedom and coherence of the individual. It is not racism, it is Islam.”
The word ‘Moors’, ‘Moros’ in Spanish, has been widely condemned by anti-racism organisations as a derogatory slur to refer to North Africans.
In another post, she made remarks about the growing Muslim presence in Spain, commenting there were “more and more Muslims in Spain” and expressing discomfort at seeing “women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels”.
She provocatively added: “Maybe next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.”
The artist also hit out at George Floyd, whose killing by a police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020 sparked worldwide outrage.
She labelled him a “drug addict and a hustler” and questioned the public’s interest in his death. “I truly believe that very few people ever cared about George Floyd,” she wrote.
The criticism also extended to her comments on the 2021 Oscars, where she compared the ceremony with independent and protest films, making racially charged remarks. “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,” she said.
In response to the backlash, Gascón said in a statement: “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt.
“As someone in a marginalised 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.”
Mexicans slam ‘harmful stereotypes’
Emilia Pérez has earned a record-breaking 13 Oscar nominations for a non-English-language film, including recognition for Gascón’s performance as a cartel boss transitioning into a woman.
However, the film has sparked criticism from both the LGBTQ+ community and Mexican audiences.
Advocacy group GLAAD called the film’s portrayal of the trans character “profoundly retrograde” and a “step backwards” for transgender representation. The film has also been accused of perpetuating harmful Mexican stereotypes.
Director Jacques Audiard apologised for the film’s portrayal of certain cultural elements, particularly regarding Mexican audiences.
The film has also faced criticism for its inaccurate depiction of Mexican life, including the use of what some have described as “Google Translate” Spanish and Selena Gomez’s alleged poor pronunciation of the Central American dialect of Spanish.
Despite these critiques, Emilia Pérez has been praised in the global film industry, winning four Golden Globes and 11 BAFTA nominations.
Yet, the film’s reception in Mexico has been overwhelmingly negative. Emilia Pérez, which touches on themes of drug trafficking and forced disappearances, will be released in Mexican cinemas on 23 January.
The New Arab has contacted Karla SofÃa Gascón’s management for comment
