'We don't support hate speech'—'Emilia Pérez' songwriter amid Karla controversy
What's the story
Camille, the songwriter for the acclaimed movie Emilia Pérez, recently addressed the controversy looming over the movie's Oscar campaign. The uproar was ignited by contentious social media posts by lead actor Karla Sofia Gascon. Despite the setback, Camille and her colleagues remain committed to their work and are continuing with their Oscars campaign. The film also stars Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez.
Emotional impact
Camille expressed relief and concern over the controversy
In an interview with Deadline, Camille expressed both relief and concern over the matter. She said, "It actually feels like a relief to be able to talk about it, and it's important to talk about these things." "It's been very painful for us because you cannot control what other people choose to say, but we don't support hate speech or racist speech." "We continue this campaign because we all dedicated so much of ourselves and our creativity to this film."
Campaign disruption
Film's Oscar campaign marred by social media scandal
The Oscar campaign for Emilia Pérez started off on a high note with a whopping 13 nominations, almost breaking the record for the highest nominations in a single category. However, the momentum was stalled when Gascon's social media posts on X sparked controversy. Director Jacques Audiard had initially addressed the issue, saying the posts didn't reflect the team's values. Gascon has apologized for the posts.
Controversy
Gascon's tweets that sparked controversy
Gascon's old posts touched on topics such as the murder of George Floyd and comments about Islam and its followers in Spain. One post read, "More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films." Another tweet read, "Women {in Islam] are respected, and when they are so respected they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves."
Twitter Post
Take a look at the tweets here
it’s so insane that karla sofía gascón still has these tweets up. straight up have never seen tweets this racist from someone actively campaigning to win an ACADEMY AWARD. there are more than a dozen… pic.twitter.com/1rcNzkJXuo
— sarah hagi (@KindaHagi) January 30, 2025