Days before the 2025 Oscars, Academy CEO Bill Kramer addressed the ongoing controversy over historic nominee Karla Sofía Gascón after the Emilia Pérez courted scandal over recently resurfaced social media posts disparaging Islam.
Amid the controversy resulting in Gascón — who made history in January when she became the first out trans person to be nominated for any acting Oscar — missing a slew of awards season events in recent weeks (including last weekend's SAG Awards), Kramer has encouraged Academy members to operate with "respect" if Gascón attends Sunday's ceremony.
"The Academy does not condone hate speech — I want to be very clear about that," Kramer told The Hollywood Reporter. "Karla’s nomination is historic. That’s really important. She’s still a nominee. We honor that, but we do not condone hate speech."
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He added that "all nominees are invited to attend the show," and "that stands" for Gascón if she chooses to attend the show.
"If Karla joins us for the night, I hope there is an air of respect," Kramer continued. "We have over 200 nominees. The night is about much more than one person. We are there to celebrate all of our nominees."
Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for Gascón and Emilia Pérez distributor Netflix for comment.
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Shortly after Gascón's history-making Oscar nomination in January, writer Sarah Hagi shared screenshots from Gascón's now-deleted X account that showed a series of problematic posts, some of which appeared to have been deleted and EW was not able to independently verify. The posts included language that disparaged Islam, including a 2016 post that read "Islam is becoming a hotbed of infection for humanity that urgently needs to be cured," according to a translation included in the screen grab.
According to a Google-provided translation of another post from 2021 that has since been deleted, Gascón wrote: "The West should ban Islam and any political or religious manifestation that violates human rights and universal values. Paradoxically, there is no other way to enforce rules than to have rules and enforce them." A threaded post, which was also deleted, continued, "Obviously, I will never defend Islam or any religion. They all try to destroy human rights in favor of their stupid beliefs without sense or reason, ALL OF THEM. Human beings are imbeciles by nature and religions are proof of that. STOP RELIGIONS."
Karla Sofía Gascón in 'Emilia Pérez'.
Shanna Besson/PAGE 114
Gascón eventually apologized for the remarks, with the Spanish actress telling THR, "I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt" and that "as someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well, and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness."
In a televised interview with CNN, she later stressed that she “cannot step down from an Oscar nomination" amid calls for her nomination to be revoked, because Gascón noted that she'd "not committed any crime" or "harmed anyone," before adding, "I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am."
The film's director, Jacques Audiard, told Deadline that Gascón's social media messages were "inexcusable" and that he didn't want to talk to her. Supporting actress Zoe Saldaña — widely expected to win the Oscar for her role in the film — also called her costar's words "sad" and said she felt "disappointed" by the developments, while fellow supporting actress Selena Gomez said recently at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (per THR) that "some of the magic has disappeared" given the controversy. Saldaña and Gomez also joined together to present a clip package for the film's ensemble acting nomination at the 2025 SAG Awards — without Gascón.
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In a new round of interviews with EW for our 2025 Oscars Secret Ballot feature, anonymous Academy members slammed Gascón's posts — with some even admitting that they switched their votes for Emilia Pérez in other categories over the scandal.
"She seems to be toast, in terms of her chances," a member of the writing branch told EW, while a publicity professional added, "I am utterly disgusted at the racism and hatred. I feel like the Academy should rescind that nomination. It is abhorrent, vile hate speech that has no place in the excellence that the Academy illuminates and underscores."
The 2025 Oscars — with Conan O'Brien as host — air Sunday at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ABC and Hulu, with the official red carpet presentation beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
