Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofia Gascón responds to backlash as she describes receiving vile death threats

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofia Gascón has fiercely rejected criticism of the divisive, multi award-winning musical crime thriller.

The Spanish-language film by Jacques Audiard has received vastly different reactions in different circles, receiving ample nods during the 2025 award season while facing searing criticism online.

Emilia Pérez follows trans actress Gascón as the titular character, a feared former Mexican cartel boss who enlists career lawyer Rita (Avatar’s Zoe Saldaña) to help her fake her own death, in order to undergo gender-affirming care.

In the process, she abandons her wife Jessi (Selena Gomez) and their two children, letting them think she is dead, before re-entering their lives under the pretence of being their aunt. 

Some of the film’s left-wing, LGBTQ+ critics have condemned Emilia Pérez for placing surgery at the forefront of the trans experience, while others have suggested it plays into harmful tropes about trans people being violent, aggressive, or leaving their families behind.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, history-maker Gascón has responded to the critics in no uncertain terms.

“First off, I’m tired of TikTokers, Instagrammers, influencers and people who get up in the morning and are all soccer coaches, they are all journalists, they are all film critics. You must be super well-adjusted to criticize the work of 700 people from your couch, sitting there next to your PlayStation,” she said.

“Second, they claim to speak for everyone. Let me tell you: Being LGBT doesn’t make you less of an idiot.”

Karla Sofia Gascón, who is heavily tipped to be nominated for a Best Actress accolade at the Oscars next week, added that social media commentary doesn’t reflect the real-world response to the film.

“Social media is a lie,” she urged. “The reality is in the street. It’s people who come up to you to say thank you.

“There is something beautiful happening in society… Many people are waiting for me to be nominated somewhere. If I’m given that award, they’ll jump for joy.”

During the interview, Gascón suggested that she actually helped Audiard to improve the trans representation in the Emilia Pérez script. The original premise is said to have seen Emilia transition only to evade capture by the Mexican authorities, and only later growing into her her identity as a woman.

In the original script, Emilia is said to have embarked on her first post surgery romance with a man, changing her sexuality entirely. After Gascón’s intervention, the final film instead sees Emilia fall in love with a woman named Epifanía (Adriana Paz).

While Emilia Pérez has endured plenty of disapproval from within the LGBTQ+ community, the film – and Gascón – have also faced hatred from right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ circles.

The star opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about death threats she’s been sent, including one which said she would “be found dismembered in a bag”.

“I’ve gotten used to it,” she said. “In fact, I love it. It’s my gasoline to then tell the people of the light: ‘You have won.’ The more people hate me, the more insulting messages they send, the more I say, ‘Thank you,’ and the more I’m going to enjoy this moment.”

Emilia Pérez is streaming now on Netflix.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.