Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón has issued an apology amid widespread criticism over a slew of resurfaced tweets about George Floyd, Islam, and Oscars diversity.
In her statement, per a report from the Associated Press on Friday, Gascón, a Best Actress nominee at this year’s Oscars, acknowledged that the resurfaced social media posts in question had “caused hurt.” The tweets, including one in which Floyd was referred to as “a drug addict swindler,” do not mark the first controversy to engulf the film, distributed in the States by Netflix.
“As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain,” Gascón said. “All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”
Thursday, Variety shared an extensive piece detailing many of the tweets, crediting journalist Sarah Hagi with having first called many of them out. In one of several tweets shared in the wake of Floyd being murdered by a white police officer in 2020, Gascón, per the report, wrote, “I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys Without rights and consider policemen to be assassins.”
In another tweet, seen below, Gascón mentioned the expelling of “these retarted followers of Allah.” She also called Islam “a hotbed of infection for humanity that urgently needs to be cured.”
Elsewhere, resurfaced tweets saw Gascón mentioning the 2021 Oscars ceremony and the COVID-19 vaccine. Preceding the controversy surrounding Gascón's social media activity were her remarks on I'm Still Here star Fernanda Torres, also up for Best Actress at this March's Oscars ceremony.
Complex has reached out to reps for Netflix and the Academy for comment. This story may be updated.
