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Oscar hopeful Karla Sofia Gascon faces backlash over 'Islamophobic and vile' posts

Spanish actor deleted Twitter account after her posts attacking Muslims and other minorities triggered anger online
Spanish actress Karla Sofia Gascon attends the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards in Palm Springs on January 3, 2025 (Valerie Macon / AFP)
Spanish actor Karla Sofia Gascon attends the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards in Palm Springs on 3 January 2025 (Valerie Macon/AFP)

Karla Sofia Gascon, the first openly transgender actor nominated for an Academy Award, is under intense scrutiny after a series of her past tweets containing racist and offensive remarks resurfaced online. 

Gascon, a Spanish actor, gained recognition in Mexican telenovelas after moving there in 2009. She was nominated for an Oscar for her role in the 2024 Spanish-language musical and crime thriller Emilia Perez last month.

On 30 January, Canadian journalist Sarah Hagi uncovered a series of Gascon's posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, dating from 2019 to 2021, about various minority communities.

Several of her resurfaced posts specifically target Islam. 

In the posts, shared in Spanish, she referred to Muslims as “retarded followers of Allah” and “madmen,” arguing that their religion was incompatible with western society and describing it as a “hotbed infection for humanity”.

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She also took aim at an image of a niqab-wearing Muslim woman, sarcastically remarking that Muslim “women are respected, and when they are respected a lot, they leave a little square on their face so that their eyes and mouth can be seen, but only if they behave well. WHAT A DEEP AND DISGUSTING HUMANITY.”

Gascon also called George Floyd - the 46-year-old unarmed Black man whose killing by police sparked mass demonstrations across the world in 2020 - a "drug addict and a hustler", adding that she believed "that very few people ever cared about" him.

She also lashed out at diversity at the Academy Awards, asking whether the 93rd Oscar awards had turned into an “Afro-Korean festival,” a “Black Lives Matter demonstration,” or a celebration of International Women’s Day.

The response on social media was immediate, with many expressing shock and outrage.

"Reading through them and my eyes are bugging out. She's clearly a hardcore racist and Islamophobe. Yes, the irony, to put it mildly," said one user.

"Let me remind you that because you are an oppressed and villainized group, does not mean you will be an ally of other such groups, let alone have any sympathy," stated another.

Several users wondered how the Academy would respond to her posts: "Curious about how the emilia perez cast and academy voters will respond to karla sofia gascon’s islamophobic and vile tweets. the fact that these tweets span years, and there are so many of them, prove that these are her consistent and blatant beliefs."

Hagi, the journalist who first uncovered the posts, questioned how such tweets were still publicly available: "It's so insane that Karla Sofia Gascon still has these tweets up. Straight up have never seen tweets this racist from someone actively campaigning to win an ACADEMY AWARD...

'Straight up have never seen tweets this racist from someone actively campaigning to win an Academy Award'

- Sarah Hagi, journalist

"This is all from the star of a movie that is campaigning on its progressive values, you really gotta laugh. stuff like this doesn’t get flagged because you can say whatever you want about muslims, it’s never considered racist," she continued on 30 January along screengrabs of Gascon's posts.

Gascon has since deactivated her X  account.

The Muslim Public Affairs Council issued a statement sharply criticising Gascon's tweets, arguing that whether or not the posts have been removed, they remain "hurtful, offensive and shocking".

"Muslims are part of every community, including the transgender community. 'European values'? Does she mean the ones that led to the Holocaust? She needs to immerse herself in Islamic history. When Europe was in the dark age, Muslims were busy discovering math, science, and medical equipment. Learn, woman," the statement read.

The council added that the actor's remarks are "especially" concerning coming from someone who is part of a community that has itself faced marginalisation.

In response to the backlash, Gascon issued an apology, stating that she has "many things to learn" and acknowledging that her "manner of expression is [her] main flaw". 

“As someone in a marginalised community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain," she said.

Despite the controversy, she has also stated that she would not withdraw from her Oscar nomination, asserting that she has committed no crimes and that her past statements should not overshadow her acting achievements.

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