Oscar-nominated Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón will attend the Academy Awards on Sunday (March 2) and Screen has learned Netflix will cover her costs, as is customary with all its awards contenders who travel into Los Angeles for ceremonies.
Gascón is nominated in the lead actress category and has maintained a low profile in the United States since bigoted old social media posts resurfaced last month.
The Spanish actress, the first openly trans woman to be nominated for an Oscar, subsequently deactivated her X account and issued an apology. However shortly after that she gave an unauthorised interview to CNN en Español and continued to post on social media.
It is understood Netflix had not been in contact with the actress since early February. The streamer pivoted away from her as the focus of its FYC campaigns in the two markets where it acquired the film – the US and UK – except for existing billboards and prior commitments that were in progress.
Gascón did not attend US awards season events like AFI Awards luncheon, Critics’ Choice Awards, PGA and DGA awards, and Santa Barbara International Film Festival.
Emilia Pérez director and co-writer Jacques Audiard and Zoe Saldana have distanced themselves from Gascón in public comments.
As the odds of Gascón winning the Oscar have plummeted from frontrunner to outsider in wake of the controversy, there has been ongoing speculation over the impact her implosion would have on the Oscar prospects for the film, which earned 13 nominations.
However the musical won best film not in the English language award at the Baftas, where Saldana won best supporting actress. Her status as a frontrunner in that category appears to be unshaken and she won the SAG Award over the weekend.
It remained unclear at time of writing whether or not Gascón will walk the red carpet, give interviews, or sit with her Emilia Pérez cast members and creatives inside Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Screen has requested a comment from Netflix.
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