‘Emilia Pérez’ Star Karla Sofía Gascón to Skip Spain’s Goya Awards Amid Controversy
Oscar-nominated actress Karla Sofía Gascón will skip Spain’s Goya Awards ceremony, the country’s equivalent to the Academy Awards, this Saturday in Granada following backlash over past social media posts.
A spokesperson for Wanda Vision, which co-distributes “Emilia Pérez” alongside Elástica Films in Spain, confirmed the news to Variety. According to the spokesperson, the film’s producer Why Not communicated to the Spanish Academy that if “Emilia Perez” were to win best European film, Wanda Vision’s Miguel Morales and Elástica’s Enrique Costa would accept the award on stage in Granada. As she was personally not nominated, Gascón was not directly invited to the ceremony, but it had previously been floated that she may attend.
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According to Spanish press reports, including from news agency EFE, the decision came after an agreement between Why Not and Gascón. “Emilia Perez” still has a good chance of winning best European film given voting for Goya nominations closed Jan. 24, before the film was hit by backlash surrounding Gascón’s declarations.
Variety has reached out to to representatives for Gascón, Why Not, Netflix and the Goyas for comment.
“Emilia Pérez,” directed by French helmer Jacques Audiard, features Gascón in the lead role as a drug trafficker who undergoes gender-affirming surgery. The film has gained significant awards attention this season.
The controversy erupted when past tweets containing racist and homophobic content surfaced from Gascón’s X account. While the actress issued an apology and deleted her account, subsequent interviews where she claimed to be a victim of “cancel culture” have only intensified the situation.
The fallout has extended beyond the awards circuit. Publisher Dos Bigotes announced Thursday they’re canceling the March 17 release of a revised version of Gascón’s autobiographical 2018 book “Karsia: An Extraordinary Story.” In a statement, the publishing house cited their commitment to “equality, inclusion and diversity” as the reason for pulling the book, while noting that Gascón had been “kind and generous” in their personal interactions.
“Emilia Pérez” has grossed €1.6 million ($1.6 million) in Spain, an excellent result for a French film set in Mexico. Making $110,240 in its ninth week at Spanish cinemas, its box office in the country does not look to have been majorly affected by the controversy.
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