If you were scrolling through social media during the 2025 awards season, you probably saw the name Carla Sofía Gascón (often spelled Karla Sofía Gascón) tied to a whirlwind of headlines that had nothing to do with her acting. One minute, she’s the toast of Cannes and a history-making Oscar nominee for Emilia Pérez. The next, her past on X—formerly Twitter—is being dissected by every corner of the internet. It was a mess. Honestly, it was the kind of digital storm that leaves everyone feeling a bit exhausted.
Social media has this way of becoming a permanent record of our worst moments or our most unrefined thoughts. For Gascón, her old tweets didn't just resurface; they collided head-on with her rise to global stardom. But if you think this is just another case of "celebrity says something bad and gets canceled," you’re missing the weird, complicated layers of what actually happened.
The Tweets That Started the Fire
Let’s get into the specifics because vagueness helps nobody. The backlash didn't come from one single "oops" moment. It was a collection of posts from 2020 and 2021 that internet sleuths, and eventually journalists like Sarah Hagi, brought back into the light.
Some of the most cited posts involved comments about the 93rd Academy Awards. Gascón reportedly referred to the ceremony as an "Afro-Korean festival" following wins by Daniel Kaluuya and Yuh-Jung Youn. Then there were the posts about George Floyd, where she reportedly used terms like "drug addict" and "hustler." For many, these weren't just "edgy" takes—they felt like a direct punch to marginalized communities.
Then there was the Selena Gomez situation. A tweet allegedly from Gascón’s account called her Emilia Pérez co-star a "rich rat" and made comments about her past relationship with Justin Bieber. Gascón has since flatly denied writing that one, telling CNN en Español, "It’s not mine, of course." She claimed it was fabricated. Whether it was a fake screenshot or a deleted post she's distancing herself from, the damage to her public image at the time was massive.
Why This Hit Differently
Usually, when a celebrity gets caught in a "past tweets" scandal, the script is predictable. Publicist-written apology, a week of silence, and then a return to business. But Carla Sofía Gascón is a trans woman who had just dedicated her Cannes win to "all the trans people who are suffering."
The irony wasn't lost on anyone.
- How can someone who represents a vulnerable community speak so disparagingly about other marginalized groups?
- Can you be a pioneer for gender equity while simultaneously posting Islamophobic or anti-Black rhetoric?
Groups like the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) didn't hold back. They pointed out that Muslims exist within the trans community too. It wasn't just a "liberal vs. conservative" thing; it was a "you're hurting your own allies" thing.
The Netflix Damage Control
Netflix was in a tough spot. They had a genuine Oscar contender on their hands, but the "campaign trail" was suddenly a minefield. For a while, they reportedly pulled her from certain promotional events. You could feel the gears of Hollywood damage control grinding behind the scenes. Eventually, Gascón issued a statement through the streamer, acknowledging that her words caused pain and noting that as a member of a marginalized community herself, she understood that suffering.
But then she went on CNN. And that's where things got... complicated.
"I Am Not a Racist": The Defense
During her interview with CNN en Español and subsequent Instagram posts, Gascón didn't just apologize. She defended herself. She argued that her words were taken out of context or were the result of "ignorance" and "pure mistake."
"I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am," she told CNN.
She even mentioned that one of the most important people in her life is Muslim, a classic "I have a friend who is..." defense that rarely lands well with the public. She basically said she wasn't going to drop out of the Oscar race because she hadn't committed a crime. It was a bold stance. Most people expected her to disappear, but she chose to stand her ground, even while apologizing for the "form" of her messages.
The Lawsuit Nobody Talked About Enough
While everyone was focused on her old tweets, Gascón was also fighting a very different battle on the same platform. Back in 2024, she sued French far-right politician Marion Maréchal. Why? Because Maréchal had referred to Gascón’s Cannes win as a "female interpretation" by a man.
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This is the nuance of the Gascón story. On one hand, she was being criticized for her own "hateful" tweets. On the other, she was the victim of transphobic "hate speech" from high-level politicians. It’s a paradox. It shows that people aren't just one-dimensional characters in a news story. You can be a victim and an offender in the same digital space.
What We Can Learn From the Carla Sofia Gascon Tweets
So, what’s the takeaway here? It’s not just "don’t tweet offensive stuff." We already know that. The real lesson is about the fragility of representation. When you are the "first" of anything—the first trans woman to win at Cannes, the first to be nominated for a Lead Actress Oscar—you aren't just an actress anymore. You're a symbol. And symbols are expected to be perfect.
Gascón clearly wasn't perfect. Her 2020-2021 digital footprint was messy, aggressive, and, to many, genuinely bigoted.
If you're looking for a way to navigate these kinds of controversies as a fan or a casual observer, here’s how to look at it:
- Separate the art from the person (if you can): Many critics loved her performance in Emilia Pérez while loathing her social media presence. It’s okay to hold both those truths at once.
- Look for growth, not just apologies: Gascón mentioned she’s practicing Nichiren Buddhism and trying to change. Time will tell if her future actions match her new "message of hope."
- Verify before you vilify: In the age of "Inspect Element" and Photoshop, fake tweets do happen. While many of Gascón's posts were verified by reputable outlets, the Selena Gomez "rat" tweet remains a point of contention.
- Understand the context of "European Values": Some of her defenses leaned on "European values" or a specific type of Spanish bluntness. While that doesn't excuse the content, it explains the cultural gap that often happens when European celebrities interact with American social justice standards.
Gascón eventually deactivated her X account in early 2025. Honestly, it was probably the smartest move she could have made. By the time the Oscars rolled around in March 2025, the conversation had shifted back—mostly—to the film. But those tweets will always be a part of her digital legacy. They serve as a reminder that in the internet age, your past is never really past; it's just waiting for a search bar.
To keep up with the latest in this story, you should look into the final rulings of her lawsuits in France and check if she has made any long-form returns to social media platforms like Instagram, where she tends to be more reflective. Following the trail of her "Nichiren Buddhism" journey might also give clues into her current mindset.