Emilia PérezStar Karla Sofía Gascón Won't 'Step Down' from Oscar Race Over Controversy: I Haven't 'Committed Any Crime'

Mar. 15, 2025

Karla Sofía Gascón in Mexico City on Jan. 15, 2025.Photo:Medios y Media/Getty

Medios y Media/Getty

Karla Sofía Gascónwill not be removing herself from contention at the upcomingAcademy Awards, amid her ongoing controversies.

TheEmilia Pérezstar, who isnominated for Best Actressat this year’s ceremony, sat down withCNN en Españolfor an hour-long interview with anchor Juan Carlos Arciniegas that aired on Sunday, Feb. 2, where she addressed allegations of racism and Islamophobia, as well as her supposed tweet against herEmilia PérezcostarSelena Gomez.

She continued, perCNN, “I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime, nor have I harmed anyone. I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am.”

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Karla Sofía Gascón on CNN en Español Sunday, Feb. 2.CNN en Espanol/YouTube

CNN en Espanol/YouTube

During the interview with CNN, in which she got visibly emotional, Gascón also addressed her since-deleted X posts about the 2020 murder ofGeorge Floydthat brought viral attention to theBlack Lives Matter movement.

In the series of posts, the Netflix star called Floyd “a drug addict and a hustler” and said “his death has served to highlight once again that there are those who still consider Black people to be monkeys without rights and those who consider the police to be murderers. All wrong,” perTHR.

Explaining the posts to CNN, Gascón reportedly said her words were misconstrued and that she was trying to make a point about Floyd’s newfound support. “He was a person who had been in a very difficult situation in his life and no one had helped him, and suddenly he becomes a symbol of a cause and everyone loved him,” the actress explained.

“But for someone to think that … Ihave ever insulted a person because of their skin color, I do not allow that to anyone,” she added.

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Karla Sofía Gascón inEmilia Pérez(2024).PAGE 114 - WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS - PATHÉ FILMS - FRANCE 2 CINÉMA

PAGE 114 - WHY NOT PRODUCTIONS - PATHÉ FILMS - FRANCE 2 CINÉMA

Additionally, Gascón addressed the controversial tweet in which she reportedlycalled Gomez, 32, a “rich rat"amid her rumored feud withHailey Bieber, refuting its existence.

“It’s not mine, of course,” she claimed, per CNN. “I have never said anything about my colleague I would never refer to her that way.”

Ultimately, the actress claimed she has never caused harm to anyone. “What have I done in my life? What have I done? I haven’t killed a single fly,” she said in the CNN interview, according to a translation fromDeadlineandTHR. “When I have a spider in my house I put a little glass on it so as not to kill it and take it out to the street.”

Gascón is nominated in the Best Actress category alongsideCynthia Erivo,Mikey Madison,Demi MooreandFernanda Torres, whileEmilia Pérezis up for 13 awards total (including Best Picture and Best Director forJacques Audiard), making it the most-nominated film this year.

source: people.com