Karla Sofía Gascón responds to Emilia Pérez director following his claim she is ‘self-destructive’
Jacques Audiard has distanced himself from his film’s star. (Getty)
Following ongoing criticism of her resurfaced social media posts, transgender Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón has responded to Emilia Perez director Jacques Audiard, who has distanced himself from the actress this week.
Gascón has been under fire recently for a number of offensive tweets she wrote in the past which negatively referenced Islam, George Floyd – whose death at the hands of police sparked protests worldwide – and diversity at the Oscars.
The tweets re-emerged in the wake of the news that Gascón is in the running for Best Actress at the Oscars for her role as a transgender drug lord in Emilia Pérez.
The film’s director, Audiard, called Gascón’s online comments “inexcusable” and said he hadn’t spoken to her since the news broke and “didn’t want to.”
“She is in a self-destructive approach”
“I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to. She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing,” he said, likely referencing Gascón’s recent interview with CNN in which she broke down while defending herself and her actions, stating that she wouldn’t even kill a fly or a spider and therefore isn’t a bad person.
“What I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her. I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us,” Audiard continued.
In response to Audiard’s comments, the actor shared a statement to Instagram announcing that she wanted to step back to allow the film to be recognised for its achievements.
“Following Jacques’ interview that I understand, I decided, for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself, hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference,” she wrote.
“I sincerely apologise to everyone who has been hurt along the way.”
Gascón has already issued multiple apologies for the posts and Netflix has removed her from promotional materials for Emilia Pérez.
How did this story make you feel?
