Rarely has a film fallen from favor so quickly: After gaining a record number of Oscar nominations for a foreign-language movie, narco-musical “Emilia Perez” has become embroiled in scandal linked to past social media posts by star Karla Sofia Gascon.
Gascon, the first transgender woman Oscar nominee for best actress, has seen her path to glory seriously compromised by her posts about Islam, U.S. anti-racism protests and even the Oscars themselves, which she called an “ugly gala.” From being a symbol of diversity embraced by Hollywood, she has risked alienating left-leaning members of the Academy who decide the Oscar winners — despite her apologies and insistence that she is “not a racist.”
Hollywood trade outlets reported that distributor Netflix, which was banking on “Emilia Perez” for its first best picture Oscar, had dropped the 52-year-old from its campaign and distanced itself from the best actress nominee. A Netflix web page promoting the film “for your awards consideration” contained an image of Zoe Saldana, the movie’s best supporting actress nominee. Contacted by AFP, Netflix declined to comment.
