‘Emilia Peréz’ star Karla Sofía Gascón on dealing with racist tweets controversy: “I contemplated the unthinkable”

nme.com:

Emilia Peréz, has opened up on her experience dealing with the fallout of her past racist tweets coming to light.In late January, past tweets were discovered on Gascón’s account, which expressed derogatory views about Muslims, the 2020 murder of George Floyd, and the Oscars.

In one since-deleted post, she posted a picture of a Muslim family with a woman in a burka, describing the clothing tradition as “deeply disgusting”.Gascón, who was nominated for Best Actress at the Oscars for her role in Emilia Peréz, soon after apologised but later argued that her tweets were taken out of context, and denied that she was racist.

In early February, Emilia Pérez co-star Zoe Saldaña commented on the controversy, saying she was “sad” and “also disappointed”.

Fellow cast member Selena Gomez would also talk about the impact of the story, saying “some of the magic has disappeared.”Now, Gascón has since shared a lengthy statement with The Hollywood Reporter in which she expresses her regret and sorrow for her past tweets, her personal struggles with the controversy and her admiration for Mexico and its people.Gascón wrote: “Lately, as I have been the target of harmful words, I have also said hurtful things throughout my life that have caused others to feel offended—things done and said from fear, from my own ignorance, from my own pain, from the outside of that cold, upsetting shield.”“With no excuse, and without any intention to justify any of my past actions, I apologize to all I have offended at any point in my life and throughout my journey.