Karla Sofia Gascon apologizes after backlash over past posts on Islam, George Floyd and Oscars diversity

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Karla Sofia Gascon, the star of the critically acclaimed Netflix film 'Emilia Perez,' has issued a public apology after facing backlash for resurfaced social media posts that sparked controversy over her comments on Muslims, George Floyd, and diversity at the Oscars.

Gascon, who made history as the first openly trans actor to be nominated for an Oscar, came under fire when journalist Sarah Hagi shared screengrabs of the star’s now-deleted posts on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday, January 30.

Karla Sofia Gascon apologizes for past social media posts amid backlash

"I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt," Karla Sofia Gascon stated in a statement obtained by USA TODAY. "As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain," she added.

On Thursday morning, journalist Hagi posted screenshots of several of Gascon's past posts. Hagi captioned the post saying, "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…"

The posts quickly went viral, sparking both attention and backlash on social media. Variety was the first to report the story.

Sharing more screengrabs of Gascon's post talking about Islam, Hagi wrote, "this is all from the star of a movie that is campaigning on its progressive values, you really gotta laugh. stuff like this doesn’t get flagged because you can say whatever you want about muslims, it’s never considered racist. again, this isn’t even all of them"

Gason deleted her X account by Friday, January 31. In a detailed statement given to The Hollywood Reporter on Friday, she stated, "I’m sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect me and my family, so at their request I am closing my account on X."

"I have been threatened with death, insulted, abused and harassed to the point of exhaustion. I have a wonderful daughter to protect, whom I love madly and who supports me in everything," she went on.

She further added, "I have defended each and every one of the minorities in this world and supported freedom of religion and any action against racism and homophobia in the same way that I have criticized the hypocrisy that underlies them, because the first thing I am critical of is myself."

"Perhaps my words are not correct, many times due to ignorance or pure mistake. I apologize again if anyone has ever felt offended or in the future," the 'Emilia Perez' star said.

Karla Sofia Gascon's comments on George Floyd and Oscars

Karla Sofia Gascon also shared her thoughts on the 2021 Oscar ceremony, the first after the COVID pandemic. “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,” Gascon wrote.

In addition to her posts about Islam and Oscars, Gascon shared a lengthy thread about George Floyd shortly after he died in 2020 at the hands of a police officer, which sparked widespread protests across the US.

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," adding, "They’re all wrong," as per Variety.

In a series of posts, she added, “Too many things to reflect on regarding the behavior of our species every time an event occurs. Perhaps it is no longer a question of racism, but of social classes that feel threatened by each other. Maybe that’s the only real difference.”

Backlash intensifies over Karla Sofia Gascon's past posts

The controversy surrounding Karla Sofia Gascon’s resurfaced posts comes just days after the Academy Awards nominations were announced. Gascon's nomination for Best Actress, for her role in 'Emilia Perez', has been met with backlash online.

A user said, "A PERSON LIKE THAT CANNOT WIN AN OSCAR, a person like that is not a person, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, Karla Sofia really is an unpleasant being."

Another added, "Oh, she is over. Karla Gascon is cancelled. I wouldn't bother to go to the Oscars. how can you come back from that? She hates everyone. She hates latinos, but she wasn't mad when she accepted to portray one."

One commentator remarked, "I think it’s deeply disappointing how Karla Sofia Gascon had the opportunity to reach this kind of success as a transgender woman AND THEN ruined it all by being a racist dumba**…"

"So karla sofia gascon is a zionist, anti-black, anti-indigenous, anti mexican, anti-arab, anti-immigrant, sinophobic, islamophobic, lesbophobic, misogynist, basically an all around athlete in bigotry olympics," slammed one.

A person claimed, "Also just found out Karla Sofía Gascón is a raging racist so more reason for me to hate their garbage movie."

Someone else chimed in, "It's a shame that a person like you, who was even nominated, acts in such a disrespectful, racist and xenophobic way. Is that how you want to be remembered? "

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.