Karla Sofía Gascón got a shoutout from her “Emilia Perez” director at the 2025 BAFTA Film Awards despite the controversy over her resurfaced tweets.
Jacques Audiard, who helmed the musical crime movie, went on stage to accept the award for Best Film Not in the English Language and mentioned Gascón, 52, in his speech after he previously condemned her “hateful” social media remarks.
“Above all, I would like to thank all the wonderful artists who brought this film to life and who are here with us tonight,” said Audiard, 72, according to Variety.
“My dear Zoe, my dear Selena, Giorgini, Paul, Juliet, Camille, Clement, Julia and your team, but also you, my dear Karla Sofia, that I kiss,” he continued. “I’m deeply proud of what we achieved together. Long live ‘Emilia Pérez’!”
Audiard attended the BAFTAs alongside the film’s stars Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldaña, who were both nominated in the supporting actress category, which Saldaña won.
Gascón skipped the award show, just as she did for the Critics Choice Awards and PGA Awards.
The transgender actress has been facing backlash over her old Twitter posts where she criticized Muslim culture and George Floyd.
Audiard addressed Gascón’s controversy for the first time in a Feb. 5 interview with Deadline and called her “hateful” messages “inexcusable.”
“I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? … She’s talking about herself as a victim, which is surprising. It’s as if she thought that words don’t hurt,” Audiard said, referring to how Gascón initially refused to take ownership of her actions in an her interview with CNN.
Audiard added at the time, “I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to.”
Gomez, 32, and Saldaña, 46, have also expressed their disappointment in their co-star’s behavior, while Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajari, said on a podcast recently that the whole situation is a “bummer.”
“I think it’s really a bummer for the 100 incredibly talented people who made an amazing movie. If you look at the nominations, and all of this awards love that it’s received, I think it’s such a bummer that it distracted from that,” said Bajari.
“Emilia Perez” is nominated for 13 awards at the upcoming 2025 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director for Audiard and Best Actress for Gascón.
During her CNN en Español interview, Gascón denied the claims of racism and stood by her Academy Award nomination.
“I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime, nor have I harmed anyone,” she said. “I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am.”
Gascón later issued an apology on Instagram on Feb. 7.
“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 wrote.
