“I decided, for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself, hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference.” She concluded her post with a heart emoji, adding, “I sincerely apologise to everyone who has been hurt along the way,” she wrote on Instagram.
Her latest post appears to be in response to an interview given by Jacques Audiard to Deadline on Wednesday, 5 February. The Emilia Pérez writer-director described Gascón’s past remarks as “inexcusable” and revealed he had not been in contact with her.
“She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing,” said the French filmmaker, 72, adding that she was “harming people who were very close to her,” including the cast and crew of Emilia Pérez. “I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions,” he added.
The 52-year-old deactivated her X account on January 31 after facing backlash over past inflammatory tweets in which she criticised muslim culture, George Floyd, and diversity at the Academy Awards. She has since made various statements to the media and on her Instagram account. She also gave an emotional interview to CNN on February 2 addressing the controversy and stating, “I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am.”
Emilia Pérez, Netflix’s musical thriller about a Mexican drug cartel leader (played by Gascón) who transitions into a woman, leads this year’s Academy Award nominations with 13 nods – the highest ever for a film predominantly in a non-English language. Gascón’s nomination for Best Actress makes her the first openly transgender performer to be recognised in an acting category at the Oscars. She similarly made history with nominations at the Golden Globe Awards (3 January), Critics’ Choice Awards (February 7), BAFTA Film Awards (February 16), and more. However, reports suggest the actress will not be attending many of the awards events in Los Angeles.
Gascón will also be absent from this weekend’s prestigious Goya Awards – Spain’s equivalent of the Oscars – as the fallout from her past racist and Islamophobic social media posts continues. The Spanish actor has been dropped by her publisher and criticised by several prominent politicians. She has also been removed from the film’s promotional campaign by Netflix.
Her co-star Zoe Saldaña has admitted that the views expressed had saddened and disappointed her. On Thursday, It has also emerged that Dos Bigotes, a publishing house specialising in LGBTQ+, gender, and feminist themes, has cancelled plans for a revised edition of a biographical novel Gascón originally published in Mexico in 2018.
