Karla Sofía Gascón criticized for resurfaced social posts amid Oscar nomination

[Kennedy Felton]

Just days after the film “Emilia Perez” faced heavy criticism on social media for its portrayal of certain groups, the film’s star—Karla Sofia Gascon—is under fire for resurfaced social media posts.

The transgender actress faces backlash after screenshots of her now-deleted tweets began circulating online.

A journalist shared translated versions of Gascon’s posts before they were deleted. One post from 2016 reads: “Islam is becoming a hotbed of infection for humanity that urgently needs to be cured.”

Another post criticizes the way Muslim women dress, saying: “What a DEEP DISGUSTING HUMANITY.”

In response, the Hollywood Bureau of the Muslim Public Affairs Council released a statement to The Wrap, saying: “Deleted or not, these tweets are hurtful, offensive, and shocking, most especially coming from someone who is a member of another vulnerable community. Muslims are part of every community, including the transgender community.”

Gascon also sparked outrage over a post from 2020 following the death of George Floyd, saying: “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.”

According to Deadline, Gascon also used slurs against the LGBTQ-plus community in past posts.

But as of Friday, Gascon’s X account appears to be deactivated.

The actress is the first openly transgender actress to receive an Oscar nomination. With the timing of these old posts resurfacing, critics argue the Academy should take this into consideration.

One user writes: “A person like that cannot win an Oscar, a person like that is not a person, racist, homophobic, xenophobic, Karla Sofia really is an unpleasant being.”

Separately, Gascon was also at the center of another controversy earlier this week, involving fellow Best Actress nominee Fernanda Torres and whether or not Gascon violated Oscar rules by trying to harm the image of another Oscar nominee.

During a January 28th interview, Gascon expressed concerns about negative comments on social media, stating individuals associated with Torres were attempting to discredit her and the “Emilia Perez” film.

However, Gascon later clarified that she was referring to general social media toxicity and not directly accusing Torres or her team, meaning she did not violate Oscar rules.

As for her resurfaced tweets, Gascon has issued an apology to CNN, saying in part: “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.”