Oscar contender Emilia Pérez was named the best French film of the year at the Césars awards—France's equivalent of the Oscars—and under-fire Karla Sofia Gascón, the star of Jacques Audiard's Mexico-set melodrama, made a rare public appearance. The musical is one of the most celebrated films of the year, but it has also been criticized for its depiction of Mexican culture and engulfed in controversy because of Gascón's previous social media posts disparaging Muslims, George Floyd, and diversity at the Oscars.
Although Gascón—who stars as the titular transgender ex-cartel boss—was nominated in the best actress category at the Césars, she did not win. But the night in Paris was triumphal for Emilia Pérez, which swept seven trophies. If it manages to steer through the backlash and go home the big winner at the Oscars on Sunday, it would hand Netflix its first best picture win. The film has 13 Oscar nominations, and Gascón is the first openly trans actor nominated for best actress. A win would be historic, although her chances of taking the award home now appear very slim.
Old posts from Gascon's X account resurfaced in January, some going as far back as 2016, that took aim at Muslims' dress, language, and culture in her native Spain. She also suggested that Islam be banned. And less than a month after George Floyd, a Black man, was killed by a white Minneapolis police officer in 2020, Gascón offered her assessment of Floyd—whose death prompted widespread reckoning with police brutality and racism—as a drug addict who "very few people ever cared" for. Gascón, who has issued an apology for her old posts, posed for photographers at the Césars but did not speak to reporters.
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