Zoe Saldaña has responded to the controversy enveloping her Emilia Pérez co-star Karla Sofía Gascón, after a wave of offensive social media posts were resurfaced online.
Saldaña, 46, starred alongside Gascón, 52, in the Netflix movie, which was nominated for 13 Oscars last month.
The musical film sees Gascón play a crime boss who enlists the help of a lawyer (Saldaña) to fake her death and undergo a gender transition.
In the past week, Gascón, who is nominated for Best Actress at the 2025 Oscars, has faced heavy criticism for a string of old tweets, which voiced offensive opinions about a number of minority groups.
The actor said in a statement to The Independent: “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.”
Saldaña, who is herself nominated for Best Supporting Actress, and is currently the frontrunner in the category, was asked about the controversy during a Q&A in London, alongside director Jacques Audiard and songwriters-composers Camille and Clément Ducol.
“I’m still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I’m sad,” she said.
“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.
“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, and my experience and my interactions with them was about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural and gender equity. And it just saddens me.”
Gascón was originally supposed to be present at the Q&A as well, but was ultimately absent from the line-up.
Saldaña continued: “It saddens me that we are having to face this setback right now. But I’m happy that you’re all here and that you’re all still showing up for Emilia 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.”
