Karla Sofía Gascón won’t attend the SAG Awards – but will be at the Oscars on March 2, Page Six can reveal.Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
“Emilia Pérez” star Karla Sofía Gascón will skip the SAG Awards Sunday in the wake of her tweet scandal, sources told Page Six.
The 52-year-old is nominated for Best Female Actor in a Leading Role at the SAGs, happening at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles and streaming on Netflix at 8 p.m. EST on February 23.
However, Gascón — also nominated for the best actress Oscar — is set to fly to LA for the March 2 Academy Awards ceremony, her friends told us.
The Spanish actress has drawn fire with newly resurfaced racist and anti-Muslim tweets.
Gascón has already missed the Critics Choice Awards, PGA Awards and the Goya Awards, and was a no-show at the BAFTAs in London Sunday night, when she was nominated for Leading Actress.
She was the first openly trans actress to be nominated for a BAFTA Film Award and missed seeing her co-star Zoe Saldaña’s expletive-ridden speech as she won the Best Supporting Actress award, as well as director Jacques Audiard picking up the gong for best Film Not in the English Language.
Instead, Gascón flew to Milan, Italy, where she was supported by longtime friends, including Italian director Stefania Rossella Grassi and producer Melina Arena.
Gascòn skipped the BAFTAs Sunday night in favor of dinner with pals, including director Grassi and producer Melina Arena. She’s sitting between Grassi (far right) and Arena.Courtesy of Stefania Rossella Grassi
“I have known Karla for many years,” Grassi — who directed Gascón in the 2019 short film “Preludio” — told Page Six. “She is strong and fragile at the same time. An immense talent, and an infinite heart. In my hard times she never left me alone.
“Karla was happy to be with us, among the people who love her, who know her big heart.
“I trust that meritocratic America will welcome her on the night of the Oscar … she deserves the support of us directors who know her heart and have worked with her.”
Zoe Saldaña was thrilled to pick up the best supporting actress trophy at the BAFTAs for her role in “Emilia Pérez.”Brett D. Cove / SplashNews.com
We have reached out to Netflix and reps for Gascón for comment.
As Page Six previously reported, Netflix did not pay for Gascón to fly to the US from Spain for crucial days of awards-season campaigning amidst the social media controversy — although she was featured in a New York Times ad last month and in billboards along Sunset Boulevard, paid for by Netflix.
Gascón won the European Actress category at the European Film Awards gala in December.AP
Netflix has scored a whopping 13 Oscar nominations for “Emilia Pérez,” including Best Picture.
Gascón deleted her X account after some past tweets came to light, including calling George Floyd a “drug addict and a hustler” and her “Emilia Pérez” co-star Selena Gomez a “rich rat” before having met her.
She has apologized for the tweets, saying, “As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain.”
Director Audiard seemed to extend an olive branch to his leading actress at the BAFTAs.
Thanking his cast, Audiard added at the end of his speech: “I also thank you Karla Sofía, who I kiss.”
Saldaña, too, still thanked Gascón in her BAFTAs speech, saying: “I want to thank my wonderful cast, Karla, Selena, Adriana … Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds. And I hope that ‘Emilia Pérez’ did something like this, please, because voices need to be heard.”
