Emilia Perez director Jacques Audiard has opened up about his star Karla Sofia Gascon's recent controversy about her resurfaced past tweets.
The Oscar-nominated actress has been in hot water due to her resurfaced past tweets that are deemed to be racist and Islamaphobic. Since then, she deleted her X account, issued an apology, and released statements defending her remarks.
Jacques Audiard Reacts to Karla Sofia Gascon's Controversial Past Tweets
In a recent interview, Audiard shared his reaction to Gascon's online controversy surrounding her past tweets.
He expressed his disappointment over the actress' actions and called the past tweets "inexcusable."
"Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space, and that makes me very sad. It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía. The trust we shared, the exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set that was indeed based on trust," the filmmaker said.
"And when you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected. It’s as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable."
Audiard also revealed that he has not spoken to Gascon since the resurfaced past tweets took place. He lamented how the controversy has affected his film's Oscar campaign and how it's been harmful to her co-stars.
"I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to. She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why? I don’t understand it, and what I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her," he said.
"I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us."
The filmmaker added, "I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions."
The Aftermath of Karla Sofia Gascon's Controversy
As a result of the online controversy, Gascon is no longer attending all awards events that she was set to participate in this week including the Critics' Choice Awards where she is currently nominated for Best Actress.
It was also reported that Netflix has distanced itself from Gascon and they are no longer covering the expenses for Gascon's transportation, stylist, and accommodation for the rest of the awards campaign trail.
They have also changed their Oscar FYC campaign materials for Emilia Perez by removing Gascon's image and pivoting their focus to Zoe Saldaña, who is in contention for Best Supporting Actress, as their front act.
Reports suggested that some members of The Academy have shown reluctance to support the film as a result of Gascon's controversy.
What do you think of Audiard's reaction to Gascon's controversy? Let us know in the comments!
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