Following the Karla Sofía Gascón controversy, Netflix is changing the Emilia Pérez Oscar campaign to distance itself from the actress.
Emilia Pérez has been receiving numerous accolades, including 13 Oscar nominations, the most of any film this year. One of those nominations was a Best Actress nod for Karla Sofía Gascón, who made history as the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for the award. However, after some social media posts were uncovered which were seen as racist and Islamophobic, Netflix seems to be cutting ties with Gascón and removing her as the face of the Oscar campaign for the film.
Gascón was set to make numerous appearances at Awards shows in the coming weeks, including the AFI Awards luncheon, The Critics Choice Awards, The Directors Guild of America Awards, The Producers Guild of America Awards, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, but THR has heard that she likely won’t be attending any of them. If she does, Netflix won’t be footing the bill as the streaming service is no longer covering expenses for her travel or styling.
Given the millions Netflix has invested in this campaign, tensions between the streaming service and Gascón are said to be rather high. In fact, they are no longer in direct communication and are instead communicating through Gascón’s agent.
Gascón did issue an apology after the controversy broke and booked an interview with CNN en Español to explain everything, but all without Netflix’s involvement. In a subsequent social media post, she said they wanted to “cancel me” and wondered, “How can I move forward?“
The new Oscar campaign for Emilia Pérez has shifted focus to Zoe Saldaña (who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress) and other talent. Given that Gascón plays the title character, her absence is very noticeable. Some Oscar voters aren’t letting a little controversy change their opinions on the film, but others think the damage is already done. “I think it’s going to have a huge effect. It left a bad taste in people’s mouths,” one voter told Variety. “People are allowed to have their opinions, but I don’t want to live in a world where a racist and bigot is highlighted and rewarded. I was going to vote for her because I really did think she was extraordinary, but how could I now? I hope it doesn’t affect Zoe. It really shouldn’t. I don’t think people are that stupid.“
What do you think of Emilia Pérez‘s Oscar chances now?
