‘Emilia Pérez’ Director Slams Karla Sofía Gascón’s ‘Hateful’ Tweets

Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard is speaking out about the controversies surrounding his movie’s star, Karla Sofía Gascón.

In a candid interview with Deadline published Wednesday, Feb. 5, the French writer-director, 72, called her resurfaced social media posts criticizing Muslim culture, George Floyd, diversity and more “inexcusable.” 

“It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía,” said Audiard of making Emilia Pérez, his Oscar-contending Netflix musical-thriller about a Mexican drug cartel leader (played by Gascón) who transitions into a woman. The movie led this year’s Academy Awards nominations list with 13, the most ever for a film predominantly in a non-English language, including for Best Picture, Gascón’s lead performance (making her the first openly transgender acting Oscar nominee) and Audiard’s screenplay and direction. 

“The exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set,” he continued, “was indeed based on trust. And when you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected. It’s as if you fall into a hole.”

Following the public outcry over her old posts, Gascón, 52, issued an apology and deactivated her X (formerly Twitter) account on Jan. 31. The Spanish actress posted another statement on Tuesday to her Instagram account, saying she has “nothing to hide” and asking media outlets how she should “move forward” amid awards season, where she and Emilia Pérez are nominated at the Feb. 7 Critics Choice Awards, Feb. 16 BAFTA Film Awards and March 2 Oscars.

On Feb. 2, Gascón appeared on CNN in an emotional interview, refuting accusations of racism and Islamophobia and addressing her alleged post on X against Emilia Pérez costar Selena Gomez. “I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime, nor have I harmed anyone,” she said, per CNN. “I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am.”

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“I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to,” Audiard told Deadline when asked about contacting Gascón. “She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? … She’s talking about herself as a victim, which is surprising. It’s as if she thought that words don’t hurt.”

He added that Gascón is also “harming people who were very close to her,” including the Emilia Pérez crew and her Oscar-nominated costar Zoe Saldaña. “I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions.”

Acknowledging that the conversation around Emilia Pérez has shifted to Gascón’s ongoing controversy, Audiard said, “Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space, and that makes me very sad.”

Emilia Pérez is now streaming on Netflix.