Controversy over Karla Sofia Gascón's ('Emilia Pérez') online posts and criticism of BLM, Islam and diversity at the Oscars

"Emilia Pérez," the musical about the Mexican drug trafficker, leads the Oscars with the highest number of nominations despite numerous negative reviews, and it continues to be at the center of controversy. The most recent has been over messages from its star, known as Karla Sofia Gascón, who posted messages several years ago criticizing how woke the awards have become and other social issues.

In 2021, Gascon not only criticized the gala as "ugly," but also questioned the awards that were given at the time as being too vindictive:, noting that it looked like a "pro-green" Black Lives Matter or feminist rally.

"More and more the Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films, I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala," Gascón said in one post on X, which used to be Twitter.

In addition, Gascón referred to George Floyd as a "drug-addicted hustler," adding that people who protested his death in 2020 are wrong. "I really think very few people cared about George Floyd, a drug-addicted hustler, but his death has served to prove once again that there are people who still consider blacks as monkeys with no rights and consider cops as murderers," Gascón said.

In another message, Gascón added that "there are too many things to reflect on regarding the behavior of our species every time an event occurs. Maybe it is no longer about racism, but about social classes that feel threatened by each other. Maybe that's the only real difference."

'Islam is wonderful, without any machismo'

The posts, many of which were deleted, came to light after media outlets such as Variety rediscovered them. They were largely published between 2020 and 2021. In the posts, Gascón also criticizes the advance of Islamism in Europe:

"Islam is wonderful, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected, a small square hole is left in their face so that their eyes and mouth can be seen, but only if they behave well. Even though they dress like that for their own enjoyment. How deeply disgusting to humanity!" the transgender star posted.

In August 2021, Gascón noted that "the West should ban Islam and any political or religious manifestation that goes against human rights and universal values."

Gascón also referred to China's influence during the pandemic and criticized Chinese COVID-19 vaccines. "So many scientists in the world making bombs, so many academics building objects for space, so many medical factories and there is no one who can get in line with this Chinese crap. ... In the end, it was a tremendous show for a new flu variant, avian or coronavirus," she said in a post reported by Variety, dated February 2020.

Gascón insisted on this position in another August 2020 publication: "The Chinese vaccine, apart from the mandatory chip, comes with two spring rolls, a hand-waving cat, two plastic flowers, a pop-up flashlight, three phone lines and one euro for your first controlled purchase."

Similarly, Gascón posted harsh messages against Spanish communists such as Pablo Iglesias, who in 2020 was still leader of Podemos, and called him a "hypocritical piece of shit."

'I don't like adjectives'

This is not Gascón's first controversy. While on "El Hormiguero," a well-known talk show in Spain, the appearance went viral after the host, Pablo Motos, asked her what it would mean to become "the first transgender person nominated" for the Oscars.

"Well, I don't like adjectives, maybe I'm also the tallest."

To the response, Motos cross-examined if Gascón did not want to be identified as transgender, to which the actor replied: "I am a woman But the truth is that the adjectives are a bit of a burden to me, as they would say in Mexico ... It cannot be used as many media use it as a lure for people to see the news as a freak. I don't see them saying 'the fat actress who won the award.'"

Meanwhile, Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard's musical about a ruthless Mexican drug trafficker who transitions into a woman, leads the competition with 13 nominations, including Best Actress for Gascón.