Emilia Perez Star Apologizes After Old Tweets Resurface

Karla Sofía Gascón, the Oscar-nominated trans actor and star of of the movie Emilia Pérez, is apologizing for her old posts on social media that denigrated Islam and that called George Floyd "a drug addict and a hustler," the AP reports. "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 actor said in a statement via Netflix, where her film can be streamed. "All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness."

Gascón made history as the first transgender performer to be nominated for the Oscar for best actress, helping make Emilia Pérez the most nominated film going into next month's show. Netflix will be hoping the controversy doesn't derail the film's Oscar chances. Old posts from Gascon's account on Twitter resurfaced this week, some going as far back as 2016, that took aim at Muslims' dress, language and culture in her native Spain. She also suggested that Islam be banned. And less than a month after George Floyd, a Black man, who was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020, prompting a national reckoning with police brutality and racism, Gascón offered her assessment of Floyd as a drug addict who "very few people ever cared" for.

(More Karla Sofia Gascon stories.)