George Floyd: Last News

Ledisi performed the black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” ahead of the 2025 Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday.The 52-year-old wore all white and was joined by 125 New Orleans high school students for the performance, in honor of the hymn’s 125th anniversary.The New Orleans native’s performance will be followed by Jon Batiste’s rendition of the National Anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.”Lauren Daigle and Trombone Shorty also will sing “America the Beautiful” before Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show with special guest SZA.Originally penned as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” was set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson before being adopted as the official song of the NAACP in 1919.Frequently invoked as a rallying cry during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s, it was first performed at the Super Bowl in 2020 in the wake of protests against police brutality and the death of George Floyd. Born Ledisi Anibade Young in Super Bowl LIX’s host city of New Orleans, she grew up in Oakland, Calif., before finding success as a vocalist, songwriter, music producer, author and actress.With 13 albums to her name, the 52-year-old chanteuse dropped her first LP — “Soulsinger” — in 2000.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here penning the newsletter after another busy week. Read on. And sign up here.

J. Kim Murphy As Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón continues to weather criticism for her resurfaced history of racist internet posts, the “Emilia Pérez” star has issued another apology in which she says she is “hoping” that her “silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference.” The new statement comes after Gascón’s director Jacques Audiard disavowed the best actress contender in an interview, saying that he “hasn’t spoken to her” and calling her “self-destructive.” “Following Jacques interview that I understand, I decided, for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself, hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference,” Gascón wrote on Instagram Thursday evening.

Sarah Hagi earlier this month.In one 2020 tweet posted in Spanish and translated by USA Today, Gascón wrote: “Sorry, is it just me or are there more Muslims in Spain? Every time I pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Next year instead of English, we’ll have to teach Arabic.”The exposed posts come amid Gascón’s film “Emilia Pérez” being one of the most critically acclaimed movies of 2024.“Emilia Pérez” led the Oscar race this year with 13 nominations, coming up only one nod shy of tying the record for most-ever nominations for a movie.

Alex Ritman The recently uncovered social media posts by “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón in which she attacked, among various things — Islam, George Floyd and a more diverse Oscars — have thrown an unexpected wrench into the awards race. Within hours of the historic tweets being resurfaced and translated into English, Gascón apologized, saying she was “deeply sorry.” Things spiraled further over the weekend, when the actress did an interview with CNN en Español, booked without Netflix’s involvement, and addressed the situation (once again) in an Instagram post. But by then, awards soothes had already started rewriting their predictions, and Netflix’s French-made Spanish-language musical about a Mexican drug kingpin who undergoes gender-affirming surgery — previously an awards frontrunner, winning multiple Golden Globes and leading the Oscar nominations with 13 — was being scrubbed from lists.

In the latest sign that Karla Sofía Gascón is taking a backseat on the Emilia Pérez awards tour, the transgender actress is set to skip the Goya Awards, per local reports in Spain.

Zoe Saldaña has commented on her Emilia Pérez co-star Karla Sofía Gascón causing controversy with her past tweets.Last month, post on X (formerly Twitter) from Gascón’s account showed her expressing hateful views regarding Muslims, the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the Oscars. She has since apologised for the comments, denying she is a racist, and has deleted her account on the social media site.The headlines have thrown into question the film’s chances at Oscar glory. Emilia Pérez has achieved a record 13 nominations for this year’s ceremony, including Best Film, Best Supporting Actress for Saldaña, and Best Actress for Gascón – the first openly Transgender person to be nominated for the category.Saldaña, who stars in the film as a lawyer tasked with helping a drug lord (Gascón) undergo gender transition, spoke to Variety’s Awards Circuit Podcast on the controversy that has seen the film’s awards campaign derailed.“I’m sad.

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón has given an emotional interview defending herself after a series of offensive social media posts emerged last week.The actor appeared on CNN en Español last Sunday (February 2) in an hour-long interview in which she described her experiences during the days since the posts were brought to light.As reported by Deadline, she said: “I believe I have been judged, I have been convicted and sacrificed and crucified and stoned without a trial and without the option to defend myself.”Saying that she related to the struggles of Black people, she continued: “I feel and very much identify with the people who were thrown off buses for the colour of their skin, with the people who did not want them to study at university, for the people who were hated simply for existing, like how I am hated in this moment.”Gascón came under scrutiny after the 2025 Oscar nominations were revealed. She is the first openly trans actress to be in the running for the Best Actress award, and musical crime thriller Emilia Pérez is the most nominated film of the year, with a total of 13 nods.The posts, shared on X (formerly Twitter), included controversial opinions on Muslims, the murder of George Floyd, and the Oscars themselves.

“To be silent is to be complicit. Black lives matter.”

Karla Sofía Gascón ain’t going down without a fight.

Jack Dunn Karla Sofía Gascón claims the viral tweet in which she appeared to call her “Emilia Pérez” co-star Selena Gomez a “rich rat” is completely fabricated. “Of course that’s not mine,” Gascón said during a Saturday night interview with CNN en Español.

for offensive tweets that have resurfaced, went after Selena Gomez on X (formerly Twitter) before they starred in “Emilia Perez” together.According to the Latin Times, Gascón, 52, trashed Gomez, 32, in a since-deleted tweet from Oct. 2022, where she commented on a news story about Gomez and Hailey Bieber taking a photo together at the Annual Academy Museum Gala.“She’s a rich rat who plays the poor bitch whenever she can and will never stop bothering her ex-boyfriend and his wife,” Gascón reportedly wrote about Gomez.The Post has reached out to reps for Gascón and Gomez for comment.At the time of Gascón’s reported tweet, Gomez and Hailey, 28, came together at the Annual Academy Museum Gala to shut down rumors of their alleged feud.

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón has said her controversial series of tweets were taken out of context, stressing that she is “not racist”.Earlier this week, the actor apologised after it emerged that she had posted a series of tweets showing controversial opinions on Muslims, the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the Oscars. In one 2020 post, she posted a picture of a Muslim family with a woman in a burka, describing the clothing tradition as “deeply disgusting”.In another, shared a few days after George Floyd was killed by a police officer, she wrote “I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler”.

In a lengthy Instagram post shared earlier today, Karla Sofía Gascón has reiterated an apology for her past bigoted tweets — which included remarks containing Islamophobia, anti-Black rhetoric and derogatory references to George Floyd’s murder, as well as disparaging comments about co-star Selena Gomez — while simultaneously defending her posts as taken out of context. Gascón also declares that she is “not racist” and has a Muslim loved one and seems to imply that the controversy is a smear campaign for her to not “win anything and sink.”

Zoe Saldaña has spoken out about a series of offensive tweets from her Emilia Pérez co-star Karla Sofía Gascón, saying they make her “really sad”.Earlier this week, Gascón apologised after it emerged that she had posted a series of tweets showing controversial opinions on Muslims, the 2020 murder of George Floyd and the Oscars. In one 2020 post, she posted a picture of a Muslim family with a woman in a burka, describing the clothing tradition as “deeply disgusting”.In another, shared a few days after George Floyd was killed by a police officer, she wrote “I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler”.

was called out for offensive tweets from as recently as four years ago.What were they about? What weren’t they about?In Spanish, she suggested Islam should be banned. Apparently an equal-opportunity offender, she also hammered Catholics and called George Floyd a “drug addict swindler.” Tell us how you really feel, Karla.Gascón, 52, even took aim at the Oscars. After Yuh-Jung Youn (“Minari”) and Daniel Kaluuya (“Judas and the Black Messiah”) won in 2021, the X addict couldn’t help herself.

Katcy Stephan Zoe Saldaña has spoken out for the first time since racist tweets by her “Emilia Pérez” co-star Karla Sofía Gascón resurfaced this week. “I’m still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I’m sad.

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón has deleted her X account after a number of her offensive posts about Muslims and George Floyd resurfaced on social media.Gascón is the first transgender woman to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination, given for her title role in the musical/drama about a Mexican lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) who is hired to help a cartel drug lord (Gascón) with her transition. Selena Gomez also appears in the film, which is nominated for 13 Academy Awards in total.After apologising for her past offensive comments about Muslims, Floyd and Oscars diversity, Gascón deleted her X account on Friday (January 31).“I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt,” she said in a statement to Variety.

old tweet that disparaged Muslims resurfaced in the thick of an awards-season campaign, threatening the film’s Academy Awards prospects, “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón is under fire for social media posts that took aim at everything from Islam to George Floyd to Oscars diversity. In an unexpected turn of events, Netflix did not vet Gascón’s social media history in advance — nor, it seems, had anyone else associated with the film or the actor — a decision that represents a critical lapse for a major Oscar campaign, according to eight awards veterans and communications executives who spoke with Variety on condition of anonymity.

Oscar nomination, but now she’s under fire as her past social media comments have resurfaced. The Spanish star’s controversial posts on X, formerly Twitter, have since been deleted, but they were preserved in screenshots shared by journalist Sarah Hagi earlier this week.According to Variety, in a 2021 post reacting to that year’s Oscars, Gascón wrote, “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.

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón has issued an apology after it emerged she had posted a series of controversial tweets.Gascón is the first transgender woman to receive a Best Actress Oscar nomination, for her title role in the musical/drama about a Mexican lawyer (Zoe Saldaña) who is hired to help a cartel drug lord (Gascón) with her transition. Selena Gomez also appears in the film, which is nominated for 12 Academy Awards.“I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt,” she said in a statement to Variety.