Los Angeles, California - Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón has spoken out after being accused of dissing her Emilia Pérez co-star in a social media post.
Karla Sofía Gascón (l.) has spoken out after being accused of dissing her Emilia Pérez co-star Selena Gomez (r.) in a social media post. © John Lamparski / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
Gascón has come under fire recently for that contained a number of offensive remarks, including racist and Islamophobic comments.
The 52-year-old sought to defend herself in an interview with on Sunday, tearing up as she declared she is "neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am."
Among the many tweets that circulated online was one that saw Gascón seemingly drag Gomez over her apparent , the current wife of Gomez's ex, Justin Bieber.
"She's a rich rat who plays the poor b***h whenever she can and will never stop bothering her ex-boyfriend and his wife," Gascón reportedly wrote of the 32-year-old star.
In the interview, Gascón claimed that this post was not real.
"Of course, that's not mine," she said. "I have never said anything about my colleague. I would never refer to her that way."
Gascón also denied that she would withdraw from the Oscars – where she has become the first transgender woman to for Best Actress – in the wake of the scandal.
Zoe Saldaña (l.) said she was "sad" about co-star Karla Sofía Gascón's (r.) racist social media posts. © Eugene Gologursky / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP
Emilia Pérez is the most nominated film at the 2025 Academy Awards with 13 total nods, but critics are beginning to change their tune as Gascón's comments spark outrage.
The genre-defying flick wasn't without controversy prior to this, though, as Emilia Pérez was roundly panned in Mexico for its representation of the country and .
After journalist Sarah Hagi screenshots of Gascón's posts translated from Spanish to English, Gascón began deleting the tweets before scrapping her entire account on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Gomez has not addressed the controversy, but another Emilia Pérez star, Zoe Saldaña, has condemned her co-star's words.
"I'm still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I'm sad," the 46-year-old actor said, per .
"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," she added.
Saldaña further noted that her personal experiences with her co-stars on set were all "about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural, and gender equity."
