Will there be compassion for Karla Sofía Gascón in the remaining month and a half until the Oscar ceremony (March 3)? The Spanish actress, starring in Emilia Pérez, was one of the favorites for the best actress nomination of the year (a historic nomination as the first trans woman to aspire to that statuette) and was already one of the stars of the Golden Globes.
Everything has taken a turn in a week.
First, the Alcobendas native gave an interview to A Folha de Sâo Paulo where she denounced that Fernanda Torres' public relations team, also an Oscar nominee for I Am Still Here, was working to sabotage her chances with a smear campaign. Her words turned against her because the Academy of Hollywood has rules that even provide for the disqualification of members who speak publicly against their competitors.
If the campaign against Gascón exists, it has yielded optimal results. On Thursday, an American journalist named Sarah Hagi (not affiliated with any media) resurfaced a series of messages from the Spanish actress posted on X (then Twitter) between 2020 and 2021, several texts against Muslims (mostly) and racial diversity at the 2022 Oscars, and disdainful remarks towards George Floyd. The obvious consequence is that Gascón's Oscar nomination has become defective merchandise. What will her status be on February 11, the day when the academics will begin voting?
Variety magazine, the first to report on Gascón's messages unearthed by Hagi, last updated its Oscar predictions on January 27. The Spanish actress was then the favorite in her category. This Friday, the betting houses that publish the odds for the Oscar nominees place Fernanda Torres and, above all, Demi Moore, nominated for The Substance, ahead, with Moore now the top favorite for the Best Actress statuette.
But the controversy not only affects Karla Sofía Gascón. Almost all the nominations for Emilia Pérez are now lagging in the betting odds. Jacques Audiard, the film's director, is behind Brady Corbet and The Brutalist has also surpassed Netflix's production in the Oscar competition for Best Picture. Only Zoe Saldaña remains the frontrunner in the betting for Best Supporting Actress.
The Netflix name is significant: Emilia Pérez is the company's tenth attempt to win the most prestigious statuette since 2019: Roma, The Irishman, Marriage Story, The Power of the Dog... Netflix has settled, so far, for two Oscars for Best Director: Alfonso Cuarón and Jane Campion's.
In reality, the nominations for Emilia Pérez began losing the public relations battle at the beginning of the month. The film's release in Mexico tarnished the good reputation it had gained since its triumphant presentation at the Cannes Film Festival. Many Mexicans protested against the stereotypical image the film portrays of their country and against the producers' lack of interest in hiring Mexican actors and professionals. Audiard then argued that his film is a musical and does not aim for realism or verisimilitude. Around the same time, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation resoundingly excluded Emilia Pérez from its nominations for the best LGBT films of the year. Since November 2024, there have been critical voices from the gay media regarding Audiard's film for its portrayal of trans individuals.
And the day after the scandal? The two Hollywood specialized media outlets that have extensively reported on the Spanish actress's messages on X are Variety and Indiewire, the latter being the more critical of the two. In its coverage, Indiewire reproaches Gascón for the stereotyped and euphemistic language of her apology note and suggests that the file on her criticisms of Fernanda Torres in A Folha de Sâo Paulo, which initially did not seem sufficient for disqualification, may become more severe due to the Spanish actress's fiery Twitter past.