Karla Sofía Gascón posts apology, defends tweets: ‘I am not racist’-OxBig News Network

Karla Sofía Gascon
| Photo Credit: JORDAN STRAUSS

Karla Sofía Gascón has reiterated an apology for her past tweets containing Islamophobia, anti-Black rhetoric and derogatory references to George Floyd’s murder. The Emilia Pérez actor took to Instagram to share a lengthy post in which she also defended that her posts were taken out of context.

Stating that she’s “not racist”, the Oscar nominee began the post, titled “How it happened with Emilia Peréz: Everyone can change for the better, including me,” with a declaration that “They already won.”

“What I would like to do first is offer my sincerest apologies to those who have felt harmed for my way of expressing myself at any stage of my life,” she wrote. “I have a lot to learn in this world, this being my main flaw. Life has taught me something I never wanted to learn: It is clear to me that no matter how much your message is one [thing], without using the correct words, it becomes another.”

The actor, who made history as the first openly trans woman to be nominated for the Best Actress Academy Award, also said, “Now my responsibility is greater because my voice does not belong to only myself, but to many people that feel represented and hopeful with me.” 

“I clung to Nichiren Buddhism to change my life, and the lives of those around me for the better, and I believe that’s what has happened. I cannot fix my past actions, I can only say that today I am not the same person from 10 or 20 years ago, that although I have not committed any crime, I am not perfect either, nor am I now. I only try to learn and be a better person every day.” 

Gascón also said,“I recognize, with tears, that they have already won, they have achieved their objective, to sully, with lies or things taken out of context my existence. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not racist (they will be surprised when they discover that one of the most important people in my current life and whom I love most is Muslim) nor any of the things for which they have judged and convicted me without trial and without the option to explain their real intention; I have always fought for a more just society and for a world of freedom, of peace and of love. I will never support wars, religious extremism or oppression of races and peoples.”

“Mamá, life has put me here to send a message of hope and love in this world, and I am going to fulfill it,” she concluded.

This comes after her previous tweets — in which she called the 93rd Oscars the “Afro-Korean festival” due to Daniel Kaluuya’s and Yuh-Jung Youn’s respective wins, deemed Floyd a “drug addict and a hustler” and disparaged everyone from Muslims to Black people — came to light. The actor issued a statement through Netflix, which stated, “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”