Karla Sofía Gascón Makes First Awards Show Appearance at Cesar Awards – Variety
By
Elsa Keslassy
International Correspondent
After laying low in the wake of several clumsy apology attempts over her offensive posts, “Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofia Gascón made her first award show appearance on Friday at the Paris-set Cesar ceremony where Jacques Audiard’s Spanish language crime musical is vying for 12 nods.
Flanked by two men who appeared to be security, Gascón bypassed the Cesar press line and went directly inside the Olympia auditorium. She was placed on the same row as her co-star Saldana and Audiard but was not seated next to them.
Gascón, who lives in Spain, traveled to France for the Cesar, France’s equivalent to the Oscars, and will be facing Saldana in the best actress category. In France, the movie isn’t handled by Netflix but by the French company Pathé which likely covered her travel expenses.
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As Variety reported this week, she’s also due to attend the Oscar ceremony on Sunday where she is nominated for best actress.
Gascón was in the thick of the awards race for her work in Audiard’s movie until late January, when her campaign – which was spearheaded by Netflix in the U.S. and the U.K. — imploded due to the discovery of controversial social media posts on X, in which she opined about Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Oscars. Gascón went on to skip the Critics Choice Awards, the BAFTA Film Awards and SAG Awards despite nominations at all three ceremonies.
While at the Cesar Awards, French actor Jean-Pascal Zadi, who emceed the ceremony, joked in his opening speech that “Emilia Perez” was “nominated for best director, best film, best actress and best tweet,” sparking a mix of shock and laugher in the crowd, including on Audiard’s and Saldana’s faces.
Audiard wasn’t seen interacting with Gascon during the Cesar ceremony but he nevertheless thanked her during his acceptance speech at the BAFTA Awards where “Emilia Perez” took home the prize for best film not in the English language. “My dear Zoe, my dear Selena, Giorgini, Paul, Juliet, Camille, Clement, Julia and your team, but also you, my dear Karla Sofia, that I kiss. I’m deeply proud of what we achieved together. Long live ‘Emilia Pérez’!” said Audiard. Upon winning best supporting actress at BAFTAs, Saldaña also thanked the film’s cast, including Gascón.
Gascón became the first openly trans actor win the best actress award (along with Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz) at the Cannes Film Festival where the movie also won the Jury Prize.
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