Zoe Saldana breaks silence on Emilia Perez costar Karla Sofia Gascon's 'racist' social media posts

Zoe Saldaña broke her silence after racist, homophobic, and anti-Islam tweets by her Emilia Pérez co-star Karla Sofía Gascón resurfaced this week.

'I'm still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I'm sad,' Saldaña, nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Emilia Pérez, shared during a Q&A for the film in London on Friday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The Avatar star, who didn't mention Gascón or the controversial posts, sat next to Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard, while Gascón, originally scheduled to attend, was absent, the outlet reported.

Saldaña continued, 'It makes me really sad because I don't support and I don't have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group.'

'I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part of this film, and my experience and my interactions with them were about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural, and gender equity. And it just saddens me.'

She also expressed her disappointment over the film facing this 'setback' but thanked fans for continuing to 'show up' for the project.

'Because the message that this film has is so powerful and the change that it can bring forward to communities that are marginalized day in and day out is important.

'And all that I can attest is that all of us that came together to tell this story, we came together for love and for respect and curiosity, and we will continue to spread that message. 

'That's all we can say right now. Thank you.'

Saldaña's remarks come after Gascón addressed her decision to delete her X account following an apology over the resurfaced tweets.

In the tweets, Gascón criticized the diversity of the 2021 Oscars, called George Floyd a 'drug addict swindler' after his killing by a police officer in 2020, which sparked nationwide protests, and made disparaging comments about Islam, claiming the faith 'fails to comply with international rights.'

In additional tweets seen by Deadline before she deactivated her account, Gascón used derogatory language, calling gay people 'f******' and criticizing the rhetoric within parts of the LGBTQ+ movement. 

On Friday, Gascón explained she deleted her X account after receiving death threats and harassment.

'I'm sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect me and my family, so at their request I am closing my account on X,' Gascón, 52, wrote in her statement, per The Hollywood Reporter.

'I have been threatened with death, insulted, abused and harassed to the point of exhaustion. I have a wonderful daughter to protect, whom I love madly and who supports me in everything.'

She added, 'I have defended each and every one of the minorities in this world and supported any event against racism, freedom of religion or homophobia, in the same way that I have criticized the hypocrisy that underlies them, because the first thing I am self-critical of is myself.'

'Perhaps my words are not correct, many times due to ignorance or pure mistake. I apologize again if anyone has ever felt offended or in the future. I am a human being who also made, makes and will make mistakes from which I will learn. I am not perfect.'

'I am only responsible for what I say, not for what others say I say or what others interpret from what I say.

'I hope to have the opportunity to give a more extensive explanation at some point.

'Forgive me because I keep going from one side to the other and I cannot be responding to every single thing you bring up to try to sink me.

'But if you want, you can continue attacking me as if I were responsible for hunger and wars in the world. I apologize again if I have ever offended anyone with my words in my life.

She added:  I am only Karla Sofía Gascón, an actress who has reached where very few have thanks to her effort and work, without stealing or harming anyone in this world, just trying to get them to let me live in peace, love and respect, something that seems to bother a lot of people in this world.

'It is clear that there is something very dark behind it.' 

But Gascon continues to face more backlash as a fresh wave of controversial texts resurfaces, this time featuring hurtful comments about her Emilia Pérez costar Selena Gomez.

In a 2022 tweet, Gascón — who made history as the first transgender star nominated for Best Actress — criticized Gomez, commenting on a now-iconic photo of Selena and Hailey Bieber posing together, despite ongoing rumors about a feud due to Hailey's marriage to Selena's ex Justin Bieber, as reported by The Latin Times. 

'She's a rich rat who plays the poor bastard whenever she can and will never stop bothering her ex-boyfriend and his wife,' Gascón, 52, wrote.

The backlash grew when an X user pointed out that just months before sharing the comment, Gascón had reposted news about Emilia Pérez, where her name appeared alongside Gomez and Zoe Saldaña as potential cast members. 

The timing raised questions about whether Gascón knew she might work with Gomez when making these harsh remarks. 

This resurfaced post comes after Gascón faced criticism for resurfaced anti-Islam posts on her social media, leading her to issue an apology for 'causing pain' before deactivating her X account. 

But even with her apology, the internet continues to dig up past posts, keeping the controversy going.

In another post from May 2020, Gascón body shamed Adele, speculating about loose skin on the singer's arms after her weight-loss transformation.

She also took aim at Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro in yet another controversial post.

Fans are now calling for the Academy to 'cancel her nomination,' with one commenting: 'And that's why Adele won it and YOU are going to lose it.'

The Islamophobic posts were dug up by Muslim writer Sarah Hagi and translated into English by Variety.

One post, from November 2020, read: 'I'm sorry. Is it just my impression or is there more muslims in Spain? Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Next year instead of English we'll have to teach Arabic.'

Another post from September 2020 featured a photo of a Muslim family dining in a restaurant in traditional Islamic attire, which included the wife covered from head-to-toe in a black burqa.

'Islam is marvelous, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves. Although they dress this way for their own enjoyment. How DEEPLY DISGUSTING OF HUMANITY,' Gascón wrote. 

In 2021, Gascón wrote that 'Islam fails to comply with international rights,' and 'I am so sick of so much of this s***, of islam, of christianity, of catholicism and of all the fucking beliefs of morons that violate human rights.'

She also posted about George Floyd, whose murder by Minneapolis police, as he protested 'I can't breathe,' sparked widespread Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.

Gascón wrote: 'I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys without rights and consider policemen to be assassins. They are both wrong.'

The actress added: 'Too many things to reflect on regarding the behavior of our species every time an event occurs. Perhaps it is no longer a question of racism, but of social classes that feel threatened by each other. Maybe that's the only real difference.'

Gascón, who is the first transgender actress to be nominated for an Oscar, also slammed the Hollywood ceremony in a scathing post from 2021. 

'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,' she posted. 

Among her controversial tweets were anti-Chinese posts made the Covid pandemic.

'The Chinese vaccine, apart from the mandatory chip, comes with two spring rolls, a cat that moves its hand, 2 plastic flowers, a pop-up lantern, 3 telephone lines and one euro for your first controlled purchase,' she wrote.

Responding to the controversy in a statement to DailyMail.com, Gascón said, 'I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt.' 

She continued, '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.' 

Gascón's posts have already been criticized by The Muslim Public Affairs Council, which issued a statement to The Wrap on Thursday.

'Deleted or not, these tweets are hurtful, offensive, and shocking, most especially coming from someone who is a member of another vulnerable community,' they said. 'Muslims are part of every community, including the transgender community.' 

Gascón is up against Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), Mikey Madison (Anora), Demi Moore (The Substance) and Fernanda Torres (I'm Still Here) for Best Actress at the upcoming Oscars. 

Torres issued a public apology earlier this month after a 17-year-old Brazilian television sketch resurfaced that showed her performing in blackface.

Gascón's film Emilia Pérez was the most-nominated film this year, with nominations in categories including top honor Best Picture, Best Director for Jacques Audiard, Best Supporting Actress for Zoe Saldaña, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best International Feature.

In the film, Karla portrays the title character character Emilia Pérez, who is a cartel leader who enlists the help of under-appreciated lawyer Rita Mora Castro (played by Saldaña) to help fake her death so that she can transition and finally live authentically as her true self.

The real-life star completed most of her gender transition in 2018 and announced her new identity after acting in Mexican telenovelas for years.

As the drama unfolds, it remains to be seen how this will affect Gascón's public image and her standing in the awards race.