Emilia Pérez director pays tribute to absent lead star Karla Sofía Gascón at BAFTAs

Jacques Audiard, the director of controversial Spanish-language musical film Emilia Pérez, has paid tribute to his “dear” Karla Sofía Gascón at the 2025 BAFTAs.

The French director took to the stage at the Royal Festival Hall in London after crime thriller Emilia Pérez was awarded the BAFTA for Best Film not in the English language.

After a lengthy speech, delivered in French and translated on stage, Audiard rounded off with a thanks to the film’s leading stars.

“Above all, I would like to thank all the wonderful artists who brought this film to life and who are here with us tonight. My dear Zoe [Saldaña], my dear Selena [Gomez], Giorgini, Paul, Juliet, Camille, Clement, Julia and your team, but also you, my dear Karla Sofia, that I kiss,” he said.

“I’m deeply proud of what we achieved together. Long live Emilia Pérez!”

Gascón was notably absent from the BAFTAs ceremony, despite being nominated in the Best Actress category for her role in the crime thriller.

Last month, a slew of old tweets were unearthed, in which the Spanish actress shared anti-Islam sentiment and hit out at the Oscars – which she is now also nominated at – for its promotion of diversity.

She became the first ever publicly trans woman to be nominated for an acting accolade at the BAFTAs, for her titular role as Emilia Pérez, a former Mexican cartel boss who fakes her own death so she can undergo gender-affirming surgery.

The actress has since been absent from pre-Oscars promotional campaigns, appearances and screenings.

Audiard previously said he didn’t wish to address the controversy with Gascón as she was being “self-destructive” in her response to the backlash.

“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 told Deadline, appearing to refer to Gascón’s decision to share multiple statements and appear on CNN.

“Why is she harming herself? Why? I don’t understand it, and 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,” he added.

Zoë Saldaña also thanked Gascón alongside her other Emilia Pérez co-stars after she won the Best Supporting Actress accolade, beating Wicked’s Ariana Grande and The Last Showgirl’s Jamie Lee Curtis, among others.

Saldaña also took a moment during her speech to state that films like Emilia Pérez should work to “change hearts”.

“BAFTA thank you, this was a creative challenge of a lifetime. How do you begin to even approach a film that not just defies categorisation, and you start by taking the leap with Jacques Audiard,” she shared.

“Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds and I hope i did something like this. Voices need to be heard, just not my English accent,” she joked.

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