‘Emilia Pérez’ Star Karla Sofía Gascón to Skip Spain’s Goya Awards Amid Controversy

Oscar-nominated actress Karla Sofía Gascón will skip Spain’s Goya Awards ceremony, the country’s equivalent to the Academy Awards, this Saturday in Granada following backlash over past controversial social media posts.

A spokesperson for Wanda Vision, which co-distributes “Emilia Pérez” alongside Elástica Films in Spain, confirmed the news to Variety. According to the spokesperson, the film’s producer Why Not communicated to the Spanish Academy that if “Emilia Perez” were to win best European film, Wanda Vision’s Miguel Morales and Elástica’s Enrique Costa would accept the award on stage in Granada. 

According to Spanish press reports, including from news agency EFE, the decision has come after an agreement between Why Not and Gascón. “Emilia Perez” still has a good chance of winning best European film given voting for Goya nominations closed Jan. 24, before the film was hit by backlash surrounding Gascón’s declarations.

“Emilia Pérez” has grossed €1.6 million ($1.6 million) in Spain, an excellent result for a French film set in Mexico. Making $110,240 in its ninth week at Spanish cinemas, it does not look to have been majorly affected by the controversy. 

According to Film Academy sources who spoke to EFE, Gascón was not directly invited to the ceremony, as invitations were sent to the production entities. The distributors of “Emilia Pérez” in Spain will represent the film at the ceremony should it win — French production company Why Not has designated Spanish distributors Wanda Films and Elástica Films to accept any potential wins for best European film, per Spain’s El País.

Variety has reached out to to representatives for Gascón, Why Not, Netflix and the Goyas for comment.

“Emilia Pérez,” directed by French helmer Jacques Audiard, features Gascón in the lead role as a drug trafficker who undergoes gender-affirming surgery. The film has gained significant awards attention this season.

The controversy erupted when past tweets containing racist and homophobic content surfaced from Gascón’s X account. While the actress issued an apology and deleted her account, subsequent interviews where she claimed to be a victim of “cancel culture” have only intensified the situation.

The fallout has extended beyond the awards circuit. Publisher Dos Bigotes announced Thursday they’re canceling the March 17 release of a revised version of Gascón’s autobiographical 2018 book “Karsia: An Extraordinary Story.” In a statement, the publishing house cited their commitment to “equality, inclusion and diversity” as the reason for pulling the book, while noting that Gascón had been “kind and generous” in their personal interactions.