Karla Sofía Gascón says she has endured “very, very difficult days” as her campaign for a Best Actress Oscar slammed into waves of controversy from her old tweets, and continued the apology tour this week in a nearly hour-long TV interview that was filled with tears and long explanations.
Following a lengthy apology posted Saturday on Instagram, the “Emilia Pérez” star joined CNN en Español, repeating her tearful apology: “My sincerest apologies to everyone who may have felt offended by the way I express myself in my past, present, and future,” she said.
Journalist Sarah Hagi uncovered a series of tweets last week from Gascón in which she criticized the reaction to the 2020 murder of George Floyd and supported banning religions that “go against European values.” The tweets appear to be several years old and translated from Spanish.
At least some of the tweets were fully fabricated, she said – including one that appeared to be directed at her co-star Selena Gomez.
“I want to know if you wrote it in an insulting manner about Selena Gomez, who is a colleague of yours in the cast and someone with whom, I believe, you have had a close relationship. Is it yours or not?” she was asked.
“That’s absolutely not mine,” Gascón said. “I would never speak like that about her or anyone else. People who know me understand who I am. Unfortunately, amidst this storm, my family has been crying and my daughter locked herself away for days. I’ve always worked tirelessly, and now I’m here explaining myself when I should be celebrating the hard work I’ve done.”
Gascón said her life has been in turmoil since the controversy erupted, and has been working tirelessly to convince people to forgive her. TheWrap has learned that Netflix did not arrange the CNN en Español interview.
“Yes, the truth is, these have been very, very difficult days,” she said, adding later: “Some people have told me not to even think about attending the Oscars gala because maybe I shouldn’t.”
She emphasized several times that she is “not a racist.”
“I’ve been labeled as a racist,” she said. “That’s something I wanted to make very clear: I am not. Because I believe I’ve been judged, condemned, sacrificed, crucified and stoned without a trial and without the opportunity to defend myself these past few days.”
Watch the entire exchange in the video above.
