Zoe Saldaña Expresses Sadness Over Karla Sofía Gascón Controversy

Zoe Saldaña has spoken out regarding the drama involving her "Emilia Pérez" co-star, Karla Sofía Gascón. In a recent interview on Variety's "Awards Circuit" podcast, Saldaña shared her feelings.

"I’m sad. Time and time again, that’s the word because that has been living in my chest since everything happened," Saldaña expressed. She also mentioned, "I’m also disappointed. I cannot speak for other people’s actions. All I can attest to is my experience. Never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here."

Saldaña's remarks came following backlash against Gascón due to resurfaced X posts. These posts included derogatory comments about the Muslim population in Spain and negative remarks regarding George Floyd, who was tragically killed in 2020.

Despite this situation, "Emilia Pérez" received 13 Oscar nominations this year, including a Best Supporting Actress nod for Saldaña.

Saldaña explained her continuing pride in the film and her hopes for the audience. "I will always be a hopeful person," she said. "I was not raised to hold negative judgments towards anyone from any community. I can still stand by a body of work that I am proud of." She acknowledged, "I’m allowing myself to still experience that joy because we came together as a team. But we are individuals responsible for our words and actions."

Emilia Pérez's director, Jacques Audiard, also addressed the ongoing controversy. He expressed sadness about the overshadowing impact it has had. "Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space, and that makes me sad," Audiard told Deadline. He reflected, "It’s hard for me to think of the work I did with Karla Sofía. The trust we shared and the exceptional atmosphere on set, rooted in trust, is tarnished. What Karla Sofía said is inexcusable."

On February 1, Gascón issued an apology on Instagram. "The first thing I want to do is sincerely apologize to all those who felt hurt by my past expressions," she stated. Gascón noted, "I cannot repair my past, but I am not the same person I was 10 or 20 years ago. I try to learn and become a better person every day."

Earlier, SSP wrote that MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell left her show.