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Culture January 31, 2025

'Emilia Pérez' actress Karla Sofía Gascón apologizes for past offensive social media posts

WATCH: 'Emilia Pérez' leads 2025 Oscars with 13 nominations

Karla Sofía Gascón is apologizing for offensive past social media posts.

The Spanish actress, who is nominated for the best actress Oscar for her work in "Emilia Pérez," said she is "deeply sorry" for the posts, which contain Islamophobic, racist and otherwise offensive remarks on a wide range of topics.

'Emilia Pérez' star Karla Sofía Gascón becomes 1st openly trans actor to snag Oscar nomination

"As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain," she said in a statement, obtained by Variety. "All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness."

"Good Morning America" has reached out to Gascón's representatives and Netflix, where "Emilia Pérez" is streaming, for comment and have not yet received a response.

PHOTO: Karla Sofi­a Gascon poses for photo during a Press Conferece of 'Emilia Perez' film at Cinepolis Plaza Carso in Mexico City, Mexico, Jan. 15, 2025.
Medios Y Media/Getty Images
Karla Sofi­a Gascon poses for photo during a Press Conferece of 'Emilia Perez' film at Cinepolis Plaza Carso in Mexico City, Mexico, Jan. 15, 2025.

Screenshots published on X from writer Sarah Hagi on Jan. 30 show tweets from Gascón spanning several years and written in her native Spanish, making offensive comments about Islam, calling the religion "INCOMPATIBLE with Western values" and "a hotbed of infection for humanity," among other insults.

In other resurfaced posts, Gascón took aim at a variety of other topics including Oscar's diversity, China's involvement in the coronavirus pandemic and the 2020 death of George Floyd.

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In posts about Floyd, Gascón denigrated him and said Floyd was someone "very few people ever cared about." Posting about the 2021 Oscars, Gascón likened it to "an Afro-Korean festival" and called it "an ugly, ugly gala."

Gascón's X account has since been deactivated.

PHOTO: (L-R) Karla Sofía Gascón as Emilia Pérez and Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro in "Emilia Pérez."
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(L-R) Karla Sofía Gascón as Emilia Pérez and Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro in "Emilia Pérez."

Gascón, a first-time Oscar nominee, is the first openly trans actor to score an Oscar nomination in the acting field.

In total, "Emilia Pérez" is nominated for 13 Oscars this year, including best picture, the most of any other film.