Why Karla Sofia Gascon had to apologise days after becoming the first trans actor to get an Oscar nomination

Karla Sofia Gascon last week became the first openly trans actor to receive an Oscar nomination.

However, she has since come under intense public criticism over past tweets in which she made apparently offensive statements regarding Islam, the killing of George Floyd, and the Oscars’ embrace of diversity. In light of the backlash, she recently acknowledged her controversial remarks and issued an apology.

Karla Sofia Gascon said in a statement to Variety, “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalised community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain.”

Karla Sofia Gascon’s controversial tweets

Karla Sofia Gascon’s joy from her Oscar nomination for Emilia Perez, a film where she played the titular role, was greatly diminished after a journalist dug up some of her X (formerly Twitter) posts from 2020 and 2021. In one of the posts, the actor had displayed contempt for the public outburst over the death of George Floyd, the African-American man who was killed by a police officer in US's Minneapolis on May 25, 2020.

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According to Variety, in the post, she referred to George Floyd as “a drug addict swindler.”

Another post from September 2, 2020, which had a photo of a Muslim family, including a woman in a burka, read, “Islam is marvelous, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves.”

Weighing in on 2021 Oscar ceremony

In another of her posts on X, she even reportedly expressed disdain for the 2021 Oscars ceremony. The post read, “More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films, I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M.”

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FAQs

1. Who is Karla Sofia Gascon?
Karla Sofia Gascon is a transgender Spanish actor who began her career in acting with the Spanish soap opera El Super, where she portrayed a flight attendant.

2. What are some of Karla Sofia Gascon’s top achievements?
Gascon garnered significant recognition for her role in Emilia Perez, earning a nomination for Best Actress at the 2025 Academy Awards. Additionally, she won the prestigious Best Actress award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, sharing the accolade with her co-stars Adriana Paz, Selena Gomez, and Zoe Saldana.