Karla Sofía Gascón has received countless criticisms since racist tweets she wrote years ago were revealed. She has been pushed out of the spotlight despite the success of 'Emilia Pérez', the movie she stars in, and winning the Oscar she is nominated for seems almost impossible. But none of these criticisms were aimed, like the one from actor John Leguizamo, at her being chosen to participate in 'Emilia Pérez'.
"Spaniards are not Latinos. We are not from the same culture, ethnicity, or race! Latinos are mostly a mix of indigenous and Afro-Latinos! We only share a language with Spain!" wrote the actor from 'Moulin Rouge' and 'Super Mario Bros.' on his Instagram account.
"Stop choosing Europeans for the roles that we fought so hard to get! Spain colonized and destroyed our empires and stole our wealth! I bear no grudge, but I don't need to be replaced by them!" complained the Englishman of Colombian origin, who shared an article from 'Remezcla' where the author denounces the racism she experienced and believes exists in Spain.
In that post, titled 'As a Latina who lived in Spain, Karla Sofía Gascón's racist tweets are not surprising,' the writer shares her experience living in Barcelona. "As a lighter-skinned Latina, I was safe from most of the external racism that darker-skinned Latin people face in Spain. But that doesn't mean I wasn't discriminated against, spoken of disrespectfully about the 'colonies,' or called 'sudaca' on the metro, an insult to Latin Americans," she writes.
"Racism stories are often conditioned by phrases like 'it doesn't happen to everyone' and 'there are bad apples everywhere,' as if that should solve everything. It must be considered a systematic problem within the country. It's Europe's way of acting," she adds.
Nevertheless, Leguizamo has complained on more than one occasion about European or North American actors playing Latino roles. "Everyone was playing us, except us," he commented not long ago, citing Al Pacino as Tony Montana in 'Scarface' or Natalie Wood as Maria in 'West Side Story' as examples.