Actor Karla Sofia Gascon, known for her role in the Oscar-nominated film Emilia Perez, has deactivated her X account (formerly Twitter) after her controversial posts from 2020 and 2021 resurfaced on social media, sparking backlash.
Reacting to this, her Emilia Perez co-star Zoe Saldana expressed her deep sadness and disappointment over the recent revelation of Karla's past bigoted tweets.
During a Q&A session in London on Friday, she shared her reaction, describing the situation as "really sad." When asked about the issue, she explained that she was still processing everything that had unfolded in recent days. "I'm still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I'm sad," Zoe said.
The event, where the actress made her remarks, was originally set to feature Karla, who ultimately did not attend.
Saldana continued, "It makes me really sad because I don't support [it], and I don't have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group."
The actress also took a moment to reflect on her personal experience working on the film. "I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part, that is a part, of this film," she explained. "My experience and my interactions with them was about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural and gender equity. And it just saddens me," she added.
Among the tweets that resurfaced, Karla criticised the diversity of the 2021 Oscars ceremony. "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 wrote on X.
Additionally, she made derogatory remarks about George Floyd, calling him a "drug addict swindler" after his death at the hands of a police officer in 2020, which sparked protests across the United States.