Jacques Audiard thanks Karla Sofía Gascón after ‘Emilia Pérez’ win at BAFTA Awards
Two weeks after Emilia Pérez filmmaker Jacques Audiard disavowed his star Karla Sofía Gascón after the scandal around her bigoted social media posts, the director thanked Gascón by name while accepting best non-English film at Sunday’s BAFTA Awards.
“Above all, I would like to thank all the wonderful artists who brought this film to life and who are here with us tonight,” he said, speaking through an interpreter. “My dear Zoe [Salda?a], my dear Selena [Gomez]… but also you, my dear Karla Sofia, that I kiss. I’m deeply proud of what we achieved together. Long live Emilia Pérez!” This is the first time someone from Emilia Pérez has directly referenced Gascón in an acceptance speech since the controversy exploded into view.
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Emilia Pérez led all films at the Oscars this year with 13 nominations, including bids for Best Picture and Best International Film. The week after the nominations were announced, several offensive social media posts from Gascón resurfaced online. In response to the justifiable outrage around her insensitive comments — which included inflammatory remarks about Muslims, George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, and diversity at the Oscars — Gascón issued several apologies, many of which came off as bungled and defensive. It got so bad that Audiard gave an interview to Deadline where he slammed his film’s star and all but begged her to step back from the spotlight.
“Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space, and that makes me very sad. It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía. The trust we shared, the exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set that was indeed based on trust. And when you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected,” he said. “It’s as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable.”
Asked if he had spoken to his star, Audiard said he hadn’t and wasn’t planning to do so either. “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. I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Salda?a] and Selena [Gomez]. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us,” he said. “I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions.” Following his comments, Gascón announced she would respect his request and remain silent.
Despite the Gascón controversy, Emilia Pérez has remained a top awards contender heading into the Oscars next month. The film is widely expected to win Best International Feature, having won equivalent awards at the BAFTA Awards, Critics Choice Awards, and Golden Globe Awards. (Notably, BAFTA Awards voting occurred after the Gascón posts went viral.) Salda?a has also managed to avoid the blast radius caused by Gascón, winning Best Supporting Actress honors at the Critics Choice Awards and, more importantly, the BAFTA Awards. Backstage after her victory, Salda?a dedicated her victory to her nephew, who is trans. “I’m dedicating all of these awards and the film Emilia Pérez to my nephew, Eli. He is the reason — they are the reason — I signed up to do this film in the first place,” she said. “So as the proud aunt of a trans life, I will always stand with my community of trans people.”
Emilia Pérez is also expected to win Best Song at the Oscars.
Gascón did not attend the BAFTA Awards. She is not expected to attend the Oscars either.
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