Karla Sofía Gascón Sparks Controversy at the 2025 Oscars Despite Being Dropped from Emilia Perez Campaign
Despite being dropped from the Oscars campaign for Emilia Perez, Karla Sofía Gascón still drew attention when she appeared at the awards ceremony
Gascón – the lead star of the 13-time Oscar-nominated film – faced criticism after her past social media posts about Muslims, George Floyd, and diversity at the Oscars resurfaced.
Her presence surprised many, especially when host Conan O’Brien mentioned her during his opening monologue. He joked, “Anora uses the F-word 479 times – three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist!” As the audience reacted uncomfortably, he pretended to hold a phone to his ear and shouted, “What?” before doing an awkward dance on stage. He then added, “Karla, if you tweet about the Oscars tonight, my name is Jimmy Kimmel.”
Backlash Over Past Social Media Controversies
One user on X criticized: “Hollywood is so hypocritical it’s actually laughable. They spent weeks pretending to condemn Karla Sofía Gascón, only to invite her to the Oscars and give her a warm welcome like nothing ever happened.” Another wrote, “They all cheered and clapped for Gascón – the same person who once called the 2021 Oscars an ‘Afro-Korean festival.’ Shameful.”
Netflix – the U.S. distributor of Emilia Perez – canceled plans to bring Gascón from Spain to attend promotional events. Despite investing millions in the film’s Oscars campaign, tensions between the company and the actress were reportedly high.
Karla Sofía Gascón Responds with an Apology
As her controversial past posts resurfaced, Gascón repeatedly apologized and deleted her social media accounts. A 2020 post from her read: “Is it just me, or are there more Muslims in Spain? Every time I pick up my daughter from school, I see more women wearing headscarves. Next year, instead of English, we might have to start teaching Arabic.”
She also commented on George Floyd, who was murdered by Minneapolis police in 2020: “I honestly think very few people truly cared about George Floyd, a drug addict and scammer, but his death has once again shown that some still see Black people as monkeys without rights and police officers as murderers. Both sides are wrong.”
She even once referred to her Emilia Perez co-star Selena Gomez as “a rich rat who pretends to be poor whenever she can.”
Amid growing backlash, Gascón issued a public apology: “I acknowledge that my past social media posts have caused pain. As someone from a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well, and I am deeply sorry to those I have hurt. Throughout my life, I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”