Netflix chief: Emilia Pérez controversy a 'bummer'

Gascón has said she "sincerely apologised to everyone who has been hurt"

A senior Netflix executive has said the discovery of historic offensive tweets by the star of Emilia Pérez "really is a bummer" for those connected to the film.

Tweets posted by Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón, mostly between 2019 and 2024, have caused significant fallout and left the film's awards campaign in disarray.

The Spanish actress has "sincerely apologised to everyone who has been hurt" and stepped back from the film's awards campaign.

In a new interview, Netflix's chief content officer Bela Bajaria said: "I think it's really a bummer for the 100 incredibly talented people who made an amazing movie."

Speaking to The Town podcast, Bajaria continued: "If you look at the nominations, and all of this awards love that it's received, I think it's such a bummer that it distracted from that.

"It really has kind of taken the conversation in a different way [from] this incredible movie that Jacques Audiard - who is an incredible director - has made.

"It really is a bummer for a lot of the people, like [co-stars] Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. And in our awards team did an incredible campaign for that movie."

Bela Bajaria (right, with the film's star Zoe Saldaña) said Netflix did not regret buying the film

The original tweets saw Gascón make comments about Islam, George Floyd, and the high level of diversity at the Oscars.

After they were brought to light, Gascón said she was "deeply sorry to those I have caused pain", adding that she is not racist and that many of her comments had been taken out of context.

Asked if Netflix would change its social media vetting process for actors on its projects in the future, Bajaria replied: "It's not really common practice for people to vet social tweets that way.

"A lot of people are reevaluating that... I do think it is raising questions for a lot of people about reevaluating that process."

She highlighted the logistical difficulties of implementing a vetting process: "I think you also have to [ask]: Are we going to actually look at the personal social media of tens of thousand of people, every single day around the world, [given the] amount of original film and TV and co-prods that we make and licence?

"It raises a lot of questions about what that should look like."

Emilia Pérez leads the pack at this year's Oscars, with 13 nominations

Bajaria added that, despite the tweets, Netflix did not regret its decision to pick up the film.

"If you ask me today, everything I know, we would still buy the movie today," she said. "That movie is incredible and it's creative and it's bold - that's what you want, and it resonated with a lot of people this year."

Gascón pulled out of appearing at several awards season events after the tweets came to light, and is not scheduled to appear at the Baftas on Sunday. It is not yet clear whether she will still attend the Oscars on 2 March.

In an Instagram post last week, the best actress nominee said she wanted to step back and "let the work talk for itself".

She added she hoped her silence would "allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference".

Her statement followed an interview the film's director Jacques Audiard gave to Deadline, in which he condemned Gascón's tweets and said he was no longer in contact with her.

Netflix had not publicly commented before Bajaria's interview, but the streamer had altered the film's awards campaign following the controversy.

Changing the promotional posters

Gascón featured prominently in early promotional posters such as this one

At this time of year, film studios take out advertisements intended to make a particular film more visible to awards voters.

The movie will have already have had a separate promotional push at the time of its release, targeted at the public in the hope of securing high box office or streaming numbers.

But the For Your Consideration (FYC) adverts which run during awards season are specifically intended to draw awards voters' attention to the categories the film has been nominated in at events such as the Baftas and Oscars.

Previously, Gascón featured prominently in Netflix's publicity material, which reminded voters that she was nominated for best leading actress.

But an updated FYC poster released last week almost entirely erased Gascón, instead making her co-stars Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez much more prominent.

"The shift suggests Netflix is trying to minimize Gascón's contributions so that the controversy around her remarks won't overshadow the film or the work of her co-stars and collaborators," suggested Variety's Clayton Davis.

The CNN interview

Gascón (pictured on a US chat show in January) has released several statements since the tweets came to light

Gascón released several statements following the controversy, mostly via her social media accounts.

But she also gave an emotional, hour-long sit-down interview to CNN en Español.

It has since come to light that Gascón took part in the interview without the involvement or agreement of the film's PR team.

The Hollywood Reporter said it had learned that the actress "set up the interview on her own without the involvement of anyone working on the film, which was distributed by Netflix".

The fact that this line has been briefed to US journalists suggests Netflix is not only distancing itself from Gascón, but that the streamer's own PR team would not have signed off on such an interview being granted.

Often, publicity teams advise a celebrity in crisis not to give too many interviews and statements, as it can keep a negative story alive for longer or even make the situation worse.

Pulling out of events

The film's cast had previously attended events such as the Golden Globes together

Gascón had been due to appear at several events in the final phase of awards season.

These included the AFI Awards luncheon, the Critics Choice Awards, the Directors Guild of America Awards, the Producers Guild of America Awards, and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

However, the actress pulled out of appearing as the turmoil continued.

And that's not all. According to Variety, Netflix and the film's PR team have stopped talking directly with Gascón and are only communicating through an agent.

The publication also reported the streamer "is no longer covering expenses for her travel to the various awards shows or her styling for any appearances at these events".

It remains to be seen whether Gascón will attend the Oscars, which are scheduled to take place on 2 March.

What happens to the 'Fab Five' Oscars format?

The "Fab Five" format sees five previous winners of a category pay tribute to that year's nominees

Many film fans (ourselves included) love the so-called "Fab Five" format, which has been employed at some recent Oscars ceremonies.

This sees five previous winners of a particular category take to the stage to present the latest winner with the same prize.

For example, last year, Emma Stone was presented with the best actress trophy by previous winners Michelle Yeoh, Jennifer Lawrence, Sally Field, Jessica Lange and Charlize Theron.

Traditionally, this format sees each of the previous winners deliver a short speech, paying tribute to the current nominees, before revealing the winner.

However, it's understood that the Academy has moved away from doing this in the acting categories this year, which means no actress will be asked to praise Gascón's performance from the stage.

Despite speculation, the decision appears to have been unprompted by the recent controversy.

Instead, Variety reports the Academy decided to ditch the fab five format for the acting categories several weeks ago, before the tweets came to light, and instead is deploying it in different categories this year, such as best director.

How could this impact Gascón's co-stars

Gascón's co-star Zoe Saldaña is the favourite to win best supporting actress

Emilia Pérez, a bonkers Spanish-language musical about a Mexican drug lord who changes gender, received 13 Oscar nominations, although it was not necessarily expected to be the biggest winner on the night.

It has stiff competition in several categories, including best picture, but it was thought to be a frontrunner in a few in particular, such as best original song, and best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña.

It was widely thought Saldaña would run away with the trophy, not just for her acclaimed performance, but also because there is a lot of goodwill from voters because of her roles in box office smashes such as the Avatar and Marvel movies.

After Gascón's tweets came to light, Saldaña said: "It makes me really sad because I don't support [it], and I don't have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group.

"I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part, that is a part, of this film, and my experience and my interactions with them was about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural and gender equity. And it just saddens me."

Later, Saldaña used her speech at the London Critics Circle Awards to tell the audience to be "abstract with your idea of redemption".

Oscar voters and awards pundits will be watching forthcoming events such as the Bafta Film Awards and SAG Awards to see whether Saldaña can still follow through with her expected win.

The film's director Jacques Audiard has also distanced himself from Gascón

Meanwhile, director Jacques Audiard told Deadline he has avoided getting in touch with Gascón because "right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions".

"Very unfortunately, it is taking up all the space, and that makes me very sad," he said.

"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."

After his comments, Gascón posted on Instagram: "Following Jacques' interview that I understand, I decided, for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself."

She also reiterated her regret for her original tweets, saying that she wanted to "sincerely apologise to everyone who has been hurt along the way".