Oscar favourite Karla Sofía Gascón faces backlash – Why are people turning against 'Emilia Pérez'?

Karla Sofía Gascón has been making history of late.

The Spanish actress became the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Actress, helping make Emilia Pérez the not only the most nominated film this year, but also the most nominated film not in the English language.

However, the Oscar-nominated star of French director Jacques Audiard’s narco musical is now facing backlash after past social media posts resurfaced, drawing criticism for their content.

The posts, originally shared between 2020 and 2021 on X have sparked controversy over remarks that denigrated Islam and that called George Floyd “a drug addict and a hustler.”

Gascón tweeted in May 2020: “I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys without rights and consider policemen to be assassins.”

On 22 November 2020, Gascón wrote: “I’m sorry, is it just my impression or is there more Muslims in Spain? Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school, there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Next year instead of English, we’ll have to teach Arabic.”

Gascón also criticized the 2021 Oscars, writing: “I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala.”

Gascón has issued an apology for her old posts on social media.

“As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain,” the actress said in a statement via Netflix, where Emilia Pérez can be streamed. "All my life I have fought for a