Who is Karla Sofia Gascon? Transgender actress issues apology after insulting Islam in controversial posts

Karla Sofia Gascon is the first openly transgender actress nominated for an Academy Award. Emilia Perez recently experienced outrage when some of her earlier social media postings reappeared online. Soon after, she apologised publicly and deactivated her X account.

In a statement released by Variety, Gascon apologised for her past comments. “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalised 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," she wrote.

The scandal began when writer Sarah Hagi released Gascon's tweets from 2020 and 2021. It contained negative and insulting remarks regarding Islam, George Floyd, and diversity at the Oscars.

In a post from November 2020, Gascon mocked George Floyd’s death, saying, “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’re all wrong."

Gascon also criticised the 2021 Oscars and called the ceremony an ‘ugly saga’. She wrote, “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."

Karla is most recognised for her performance in Emilia Perez, which also stars Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana. She is also the first transgender actor to be nominated for the Academy Awards 2025.