Celebrated French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, known for directing Emilia Pérez, has distanced himself from the film’s lead actor, Karla Sofía Gascón, following controversy over her past offensive social media posts. Audiard, who guided Gascón to a historic Oscar nomination for Best Actress, expressed his dismay over the resurfaced messages, which many have condemned as racist and Islamophobic. The scandal has overshadowed Gascón’s milestone as the first openly transgender actor to be nominated in an Academy Awards acting category.
In a recent interview, the 72-year-old director admitted feeling “very sad” about the situation. “It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía. The trust we shared, the exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set that was indeed based on trust. And when you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected. It’s as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable,” he told Deadline in an interview.
Jacques also revealed that he has not spoken to Gascón since the controversy emerged and has no intention of doing so. “I don’t want to. She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why? I don’t understand it,” he said.
Gascón, in response to the backlash, issued an apology and later appeared in an emotional televised interview on CNN, during which she insisted she would not withdraw from the Oscars race, stating she had “not committed any crime” and that she is “neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe” she is.
Jacques, however, remains bewildered by her actions. “What I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her. I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us,” he continued, referencing Saldaña’s campaign for Best Supporting Actress. Initially considered a frontrunner, Saldaña now faces the challenge of overcoming negative sentiment surrounding the film.
Jacques confirmed that he does not intend to contact Gascón as the awards season progresses, with the Critics Choice Awards, SAG Awards, and BAFTA Awards all approaching. He stated that she “needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions” before he would consider speaking with her again. He also accused her of “really playing the victim,” adding, “as if she thought that words don’t hurt.”
In addition to discussing the controversy surrounding Gascón, Jacques also addressed broader criticism of Emilia Pérez, which received 13 Oscar nominations but has faced backlash on social media. Some have mocked the film’s depiction of its transgender protagonist, while others have criticised its portrayal of Mexican culture, as neither Jacques nor Gascón are Mexican.
“What shocked me is that either people haven’t seen the film properly, or they haven’t seen it at all and are acting in bad faith. The representation of the cartels in the film is thematic. It’s not something that I’m particularly focused on in the film,” Jacques said.
The musical thriller follows a former gang leader (Gascón) who, with the help of a lawyer (Saldaña), leaves her wife (Gomez) and children to begin a new life after transitioning. Jacques defended his creative choices, asserting that the film was never intended to be a strictly realistic portrayal. “The real thing that I’m interested in, that I was interested in doing, is that I wanted to make an opera. That demands a strong stylisation. Well, that tends to be how opera is to have schematic elements. The psychology can be limited. Opera has psychological limitations. It seems I’m being attacked in the court of realism,” he said.
“Well, I’ve never claimed that I wanted to make a realistic work. If I wanted to make a work that was particularly documented, then I would do a documentary, but then there would be no singing and dancing. For example, I read a review where it said that night markets in Mexico City don’t have photocopiers. Well, in night markets in Mexico City, one also doesn’t sing and dance. You have to accept that is part of the magic here. This is an opera, not a criticism of anything about Mexico,” Jacques concluded.