The unraveling of the 'Emilia Pérez' Oscar campaign: How the controversy around Karla Sofía Gascón affects the Best Picture frontrunner
The "Emilia Pérez" Oscar campaign has begun to fall apart just days before the academy's final voting period.
Generate Key Takeaways
Emilia Pérez has been the villain of awards season for a while, but the reason for that has shifted dramatically in the last week.
The Netflix film, which follows a Mexican cartel leader whose plan to fake her death and transition to living as a woman is complicated by family and justice, has 13 Oscar nominations — far more than any other film. The Spanish-language musical crime dramedy from French director Jacques Audiard, which is as complex as its genre would suggest, dominated at the Golden Globes.
Online scrutiny of Gascón appeared to intensify on Jan. 29, after an online interview that the Best Actress nominee did with a Brazilian newspaper several days earlier went viral. In it, Gascón accused “people working with [fellow Best Actress nominee] Fernanda Torres” of “tearing me and Emilia Pérez down.” According to Variety, she didn’t disparage Torres herself, so it was not a violation of the academy’s rules, though some commenters suggested it might be.
Trusted news and daily delights, right in your inboxSee for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.
On Jan. 30, just a month before the Oscars are set to air, journalist Sarah Hagi uncovered past X posts from the film’s lead actress, Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays Emilia Pérez herself. Critics called the posts racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic. Gascón posted an apology on Instagram, stating that the tweets were taken out of context and that she is “not racist.” She also seemed to imply that the controversy was part of a smear campaign against her. In an hour-long CNN interview that was reportedly not authorized by Netflix, she said she felt “crucified and stoned without a trial.”
By Jan. 31, during a Q&A in London, Emilia Pérez co-star and Best Supporting Actress frontrunner Zoe Saldaña said, “I’m still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I’m sad. … 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.”
Members of the cast of Emilia Pérez with director Jacques Audiard (third from right): Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramírez, Selena Gomez, Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoe Saldaña, at the 2025 Golden Globes. (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)
Puck’s Matthew Belloni reported that Selena Gomez didn’t attend the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party on Feb. 1 with her fiancé Benny Blanco and predicted that much of the cast of Emilia Pérez may lay low for a while.
The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg reported on Feb. 3 that Gascón would no longer be flying from Spain to the United States to appear at various events she was scheduled to attend, including the AFI Awards luncheon on Feb. 6 and the rescheduled Critics Choice Awards on Feb. 7. She was also supposed to attend the Producers Guild Awards on Feb. 8 as a presenter and to receive the Virtuoso Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Feb. 9.
Feinberg wrote that Netflix is no longer interested in providing transportation and accommodations for Gascón during her Oscars campaign, as they usually do with nominees.
Netflix has not responded to Yahoo Entertainment’s request for comment.
All of this comes just before the final round of Oscars voting begins on Feb. 11. It continues until Feb. 18.
Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Pérez. (Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Before Gascón came under scrutiny for her posts, Emilia Pérez had already been established as the villain of awards season. It frequently happens that one film emerges as the most-hated among its peers — and it often wins Best Picture because negative sentiment alone doesn’t always sway academy voters.
To start, it was lauded by cinephiles who caught the film when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, but by the time it landed on Netflix in November, it never topped the streaming service’s movie charts. Reviews are generally favorable with a 76% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but that’s far below the average for 2025’s Best Picture nominees.
Other criticisms include the absence of Mexican actresses in the movie’s main cast, despite the film being set in Mexico; the performance of an actress who isn’t fluent in Spanish in a Spanish-speaking role and the alleged diss toward Mexican culture by the film’s French director, who apologized after critics called his portrayal of the country “inauthentic.”
In a lengthy article, GLAAD said it was “profoundly retrograde” to use the protagonist’s transgender identity as a redemption arc. Other critics in the Cut, PinkNews and Them shared similar concerns.
With major awards ceremonies on the horizon, the tide could turn for Emilia Pérez — both the film and the actress who plays the title character. As it stands, Emilia Pérez is still leading our Best Picture Leaderboard, but a lot can change in a week.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/kim-north-soc-907acef3b4394b1c9487e1137a859c58.jpg)
Kim Kardashian got real about her 11-year-old daughter North West's career in a new clip of 'The Kardashians.' She revealed she feels "conflicted" and is "not ready" to juggle her own businesses with North's obligations.
Read more >> : Cick here
 |
 |
 |
 |
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/kim-north-soc-907acef3b4394b1c9487e1137a859c58.jpg&description=Kim Kardashian Admits She's ) |
 |
 |
Drake has seemingly taken some shots at LeBron James during his latest show, is their alleged beef getting worse?
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
We found the best deals and prices on tickets for Blackpink's Jennie's The Ruby Experience concerts 2025 - use these promo codes to get discounts.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Just days after the Lakers' acquisition of Luka Don?i? rocked the NBA, the trade has also now altered ESPN's weekend lineup.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
This story is filled with terrible people.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
KAY Burley’s Sky News replacement has seemingly been revealed after the bookies shared who has the best odds of taking over her role. The TV presenter shocked viewers when she confirmed that …
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
In addition to being one of the most celebrated films of 2011, 'Black Swan' was plagued with controversy behind the scenes that forced a change in Hollywood.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Her last day coincided with Sky Newsâ??s 36th birthday.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Nora Rose Judge was born on Jan. 27 to Aaron Judge and Samantha Bracksieck, high school sweethearts from Northern California.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Legend’s set to turn to a renowned quarterback coach to lead its football program.
Read more >> : Cick here
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
Twitter (X), Inc. was an American social media company based in San Francisco, California, which operated and was named for its flagship social media network prior to its rebrand as X. In addition to Twitter, the company previously operated the Vine short video app and Periscope livestreaming service
Twitter (X) is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 619 million monthly active users worldwide. One of the most exciting features of Twitter (X) is the ability to see what topics are trending in real-time. Twitter trends are a fascinating way to stay up to date on what people are talking about on the platform, and they can also be a valuable tool for businesses and individuals to stay relevant and informed. In this article, we will discuss Twitter (X) trends, how they work, and how you can use them to your advantage.
What are Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are a list of topics that are currently being talked about on the platform and also world. The topics on this list change in real-time and are based on the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be localized to a Worldwide country or region or can be global, depending on the topic's popularity.
How Do Twitter (X) Worldwide Trends Work?
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends are generated by an algorithm that analyzes the volume of tweets using a particular hashtag or keyword. When the algorithm detects a sudden increase in tweets using a specific hashtag or keyword, it considers that topic to be trending.
Once a topic is identified as trending, it is added to the list of Twitter (X) Worldwide trends. The topics on this list are ranked based on their popularity, with the most popular topics appearing at the top of the list.
Twitter (X) Worldwide trends can be filtered by location or category, allowing users to see what topics are trending in their area or in a particular industry. Additionally, users can click on a trending topic to see all of the tweets using that hashtag or keyword.