Karla Sofía Gascón apologises for resurfaced social media posts

Oscar nominee Karla Sofía Gascón is "deeply sorry" for the controversial remarks she made on X in the past.

Earlier this month, the Spanish star made history when she became the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Emilia Pérez.

However, Gascón was hit with backlash this week after old X posts resurfaced in which she expressed racist, Islamophobic, and anti-vaccination views.

Additionally, the former telenovela star called George Floyd a "drug addict and a hustler" that "very few people ever cared about".

Floyd's murder by a white police officer in May 2020 sparked the Black Lives Matter movement, a protest against police brutality and racism across the United States.

However, in a statement issued via Netflix, where Emilia Pérez can be streamed, the 52-year-old apologised for the messages.

"I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt," she said on Thursday. "As someone in a marginalised 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."

The tweets, going back as far as 2016, have been deleted.

Emilia Pérez, also starring Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez, leads the Oscars with 13 nominations, including Best Picture.

The 2025 Academy Awards are set to take place on 2 March.