Zoe Saldaña breaks silence on ‘Emilia Pérez’ co-star’s racist tweets
The controversy has derailed the film's Oscar campaign The post Zoe Saldaña breaks silence on ‘Emilia Pérez’ co-star’s racist tweets appeared first on NME.
Zoe Saldaña has commented on her Emilia Pérez co-star Karla Sofía Gascón causing controversy with her past tweets.
Last month, post on X (formerly Twitter) from Gascón’s account showed her expressing hateful views regarding Muslims, the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the Oscars. She has since apologised for the comments, denying she is a racist, and has deleted her account on the social media site.
The headlines have thrown into question the film’s chances at Oscar glory. Emilia Pérez has achieved a record 13 nominations for this year’s ceremony, including Best Film, Best Supporting Actress for Saldaña, and Best Actress for Gascón – the first openly Transgender person to be nominated for the category.
Saldaña, who stars in the film as a lawyer tasked with helping a drug lord (Gascón) undergo gender transition, spoke to Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast on the controversy that has seen the film’s awards campaign derailed.
“I’m sad. Time and time again, that’s the word because that is the sentiment that has been living in my chest since everything happened” the actor said. “I’m also disappointed. I can’t speak for other people’s actions. All I can attest to is my experience, and never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here”.
When asked about whether she has spoken to her co-star about the tweets, she said: “I feel like I’ve spoken enough about it…It’s not just something we have to figure out immediately.” She would, however, state her condemnation of the remarks. “I do not support any negative rhetoric of racism and bigotry towards any group of people” she stated. “That is what I want to stand for”.
Despite these issues, the Avatar star remains proud of their work together. “I was not raised to have any negative judgment towards people of any group in any community” she explained. “While being that person, I can still stand by a body of work that I can be proud of”.
On February 2, Gascón appeared on a TV interview emotionally defending herself, revealing she had received death threats and abuse following the controversy. Elsewhere, another Best Actress nominee, Fernanda Torres, has issued an apology after footage of her performing in blackface emerged.
The post Zoe Saldaña breaks silence on ‘Emilia Pérez’ co-star’s racist tweets appeared first on NME.
