Karla Sofía Gascón Offers an Apology That May Not Be Enough
UPDATED, January 31, 2025, 12:35PM ET: Following last night’s short apology from Karla Sofía Gascón, the Oscar nominee has deactivated her X account and shared a longer apology with The Hollywood Reporter. You can read it in full below.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, “Emilia Pérez” actress and recent Academy Award-nominee Karla Sofía Gascón published disparaging views on Muslims, George Floyd, and Oscars diversity in 2020 and 2021. Today, she released an apology.
More from IndieWire
In a statement obtained by IndieWire, Gascon wrote, “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalized 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.”
As for the “posts that caused hurt,” Variety sought independent translations of her tweets, one of which read: “I’m sorry, is it just my impression or are there more muslims in Spain? Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.”
Gascón also posted a photo of a Muslim family, including a woman in a burka, with the caption, “Islam is marvelous, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves. Although they dress this way for their own enjoyment. How DEEPLY DISGUSTING OF HUMANITY.”
Her ire seemed to extend to a number of religions, with later posts reading, “I am so sick of so much of this shit, of Islam, of Christianity, of Catholicism and of all the fucking beliefs of morons that violate human rights.”
Gascón, a Mexican citizen of Spanish origin, also took aim at an American tragedy. Days after Floyd’s murder, 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. They’re all wrong.”
Gascón also offered a crude take on 2021 Best Picture winner “Nomadland” as well as the Oscars ceremony itself.
“More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films,” she posted. “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.”
The incendiary posts come as Gascón also faces judgment for claiming the publicity team behind Fernanda Torres and “I’m Still Here” attacked her and “Emilia Pérez” online. “What I don’t like are social media teams — people who work with these people — trying to diminish our work, like me and my movie, because that doesn’t lead anywhere,” according to a Variety translation of an interview published in Brazilian daily Folha de S.Paulo.
“You don’t need to tear down someone’s work to highlight another’s,” she continued. “I have never, at any point, said anything bad about Fernanda Torres or her movie. However, there are people working with Fernanda Torres tearing me and ‘Emilia Pérez’ down. That speaks more about their movie than mine.”
That sentiment also inspired a walkback: “In my recent comments, I was referencing the toxicity and violent hate speech on social media that I sadly continue to experience. Fernanda has been a wonderful ally, and no one directly associated with her has been anything but supportive and hugely generous.”
IndieWire confirmed that Gascón’s statements did not violate Academy regulations for promotional campaigns — but at this point, that may be beside the point. A claimed misunderstanding regarding fellow Best Actress nominee Torres left an unpleasant taste. However, it’s unclear exactly what her statement to “acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts” is meant to communicate.
It doesn’t address, much less apologize, for any of her positions; it also doesn’t directly address her actions. She said she is “deeply sorry to those I have caused pain” — which, with its passive voice, suggests a more eloquent expression of “Sorry your feelings got hurt.”
The actress, and Netflix, are in a very awkward position. Certainly great pains must have been taken to compose that statement, which says little, but to be more direct means further acknowledgment of some vile sentiments. However, they might have done better than to draft a paragraph that constantly returns the spotlight to Gascón: I acknowledge, I am marginalized, I know suffering, I have fought, I believe.
Left out is the same forthright approach to those she hurt: I am sorry.
UPDATED, January 31, 2025, 12:35PM ET: Below, please find the full text of a newer, considerably longer apology the actress has shared with The Hollywood Reporter, translated from Spanish:
I’m sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect neither my family nor me anymore, 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.
I had long ago made the decision to close a social network [sic], which has taken a terrible turn, in which I have also sometimes fallen, and for which I apologize.
As part of this society, I have expressed my disagreement or agreement with all the related issues that have touched me and of which I have had an opinion, often erroneous, which has changed throughout my own experience. I have always used my social media as a diary, reflections or notes, to later create stories or characters, not as something that would be scrutinized down to the last of its 140 characters, since sometimes I, myself, am not even aware of having written something negative.
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.
You will never hear me support a war, an injustice, extremism or applaud anyone who oppresses other human beings.
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.
I am a human being who also made, makes and will make mistakes from which I will learn. I am not perfect. Taking my words out of context or manipulating them to hurt me is something I am not responsible for.
I am only responsible for what I say, not for what others say I say or what others interpret from what I say.
I hope to have the opportunity to give a more extensive explanation at some point.
Forgive me because I keep going from one side to the other and I cannot be responding to every single thing you bring up to try to sink me.
But if you want, you can continue attacking me as if I were responsible for hunger and wars in the world. I apologize again if I have ever offended anyone with my words in my life.
I am only Karla Sofía Gascón, an actress who has reached where very few have thanks to her effort and work, without stealing or harming anyone in this world, just trying to get them to let me live in peace, love and respect, something that seems to bother a lot of people in this world.
It is clear that there is something very dark behind it.
But I tell you something: “The more you try to sink me, the stronger it will make me. The greater the victory will be.”
Please forgive me once again if any of my words hurt you.
Sincerely, Karla.
NAM MYOHO RENGE KYO
Best of IndieWire
Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Solve the daily Crossword
