Now the Oscar-nominated actor is apologizing. In a statement sent to AFP via Netflix, the actor writes:
"As someone from a marginalized society, I feel this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry for those I have caused pain".
In some of the social media posts, made around 2016 but resurfaced this week, Gascón targets Muslims' clothing, language, and culture in her home country Spain and describes Islam as "an infection" and "a deeply repulsive type of humanity".
Another post calls George Floyd – the black man murdered by American police and whose death in 2020 triggered mass protests against racism – "a drug addict and a cheat".
The controversy surrounding the old posts comes just days after Karla Sofia Gascón made history as the first openly trans person to receive an Oscar nomination in the category of best female lead. The uproar now threatens Netflix's campaign for the film "Emilia Pérez" which received a total of 13 leading Oscar nominations.
On Friday, Gascón's X account was closed. To The Hollywood Reporter, the actor says that she "can no longer allow this campaign of hate and disinformation to affect me and my family any longer, so at their request, I am closing my account on X".
