Zoe Saldaña defends initial response to Emilia Pérez co-star’s racist tweets controversy
'I can only speak on behalf of myself and what I witnessed.'
Zoë Saldaña has defended her initial response to the backlash surrounding her Emelia Perez co-star, as she says she is ‘still processing’.
Karla Sofía Gascón, 52, was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Emelia Perez and was praised as the first out trans actress to be nominated in the best actress category.
However, as the Oscar campaigns continue, she is now at the centre of a controversy as comments on X have resurfaced in which she takes aim at Muslims, George Floyd, Oscar diversity, and even her co-star Selena Gomez.
Saldaña responded to the backlash on January 30, with a statement that was criticised for being ‘media trained’.
In an interview for an upcoming episode of the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast, the actress gave another response.
‘You may believe that it’s just a statement I came up with alongside my team, but at the end of the day, when I can’t speak on behalf of anyone else, I can only speak on behalf of myself and what I witnessed. And that needs to be enough for now.
Karla Sofia Gascon has apologised for her past comments (Picture: John Lamparski/Getty Images)‘I’m still processing. I certainly think that this is a learning experience. Everything in life is a learning experience for all of us. And the point of uncomfortable events is for the sake of evolution. So I hope that we continue moving in the right direction.’
She then added that she was ‘sad’ and could have never imagined that she would be in the position she is now.
‘I’m sad. Time and time again, that’s the word because that is the sentiment that has been living in my chest since everything happened.
‘I’m also disappointed. I can’t speak for other people’s actions. All I can attest to is my experience, and never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here.’
The film has already received various awards (Picture: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SCAD)When asked about Karla’s posts during a Q&A in London in January, Saldaña said: ‘It makes me really sad because I don’t support [it], and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group.
‘I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part, that is a part, of this film, and my experience and my interactions with them was about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural, and gender equity. And it just saddens me,’ as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Zoe added that she wanted to send a message of ‘love’ and ‘support’ and added: ‘It saddens me that we are having to face this setback right now.
‘But I’m happy that you’re all here and that you’re all still showing up for Emilia because the message that this film has is so powerful and the change that it can bring forward to communities that are marginalised day in and day out is important.
‘And all that I can attest is that all of us that came together to tell this story, we came together for love and for respect and curiosity, and we will continue to spread that message. That’s all we can say right now.’
Emelia Perez isn’t the only oscar-nominated film facing controversy (Picture: REUTERS)The 13-time Academy Award-nominated movie film itself has been dubbed by some viewers as ‘one of the worst films ever’ with concerns over its representation of Mexican culture and the trans community.
This is just one of the controversies faced by the Oscars 2025 in recent weeks.
The wildfires in Los Angeles caused a delay in the nominations and figures such as Stephen King called for the ceremony to be cancelled.
Additionally, the director of The Brutalist Brady Corbet was made to release a statement about the use of AI in the frontrunner for best picture.
This came after one of the film’s editors explained AI software was used for Adrien Brody’s Hungarian accent in one scene, and accusations of GenerativeAI use were raised about one of the film’s architectural sequences.
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