"Emilia Pérez": This is how the film was from the Oscars favorite to the scandal

Manitos del Monte's decision is certain: "I want to be a woman." However, having a gender adjustment is a difficult step - after all, his previous life as a drug baron consists of violence and toxic masculinity. "I know that I have to leave a lot behind for it, that's my only hope of my own life."

There is only one solution: Manitos del Monte has to die to be born reborn as Emilia Pérez. With the help of his lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldaña), he wants to pretend his death, shed his fortune and bring his family to safe countries.

This is the plot of "Emilia Pérez", a gangster musical that has caused a real scandal in recent weeks. The film by the French director Jacques Audiard is a wild mix of drug thrillers, Telenovela and musical and, among other things, is about how difficult it is to escape your own past.

This is exactly what the main actress of the film, Karla Sofía Gascón, had to learn. Old tweets from their past have ensured that in just a few days by the celebrated Oscar candidate, she became the most hated person of Hollywood.

But from the front: When the big Oscar hope "Emilia Pérez" celebrated its premiere in Cannes in the spring of 2024, the film was awarded two prizes directly-the jury award and the drama prize for the four female leading actors, including the singer Selena Gomez. Shortly afterwards, Netflix secured the distribution rights according to "Variety" for a high sum of eight million US dollars. Numerous awards followed: Four Golden Globes, five European film prices. After all, "Emilia Pérez" was considered the Oscar favorite with 13 nominations-absolute record for a non-English-language film. The triumphal march of "Emilia Pérez" seemed unstoppable.

And there are good reasons to celebrate the film: Especially in times when US President Trump and the AfD want to restrict the rights of transsexual people more and more, this film is more important than ever. The main actress Karla Sofía Gascón has already written film history because she is the first to be openly nominated her trans identity to an Oscar as the best leading actress.

But Karla Sofía Gascón has not become a heroine in terms of representation of transpers. At the end of January, journalist Sarah Hagi drew old tweeds, who left Gascón on the short message service X between 2016 and 2023. Gascón had written that the murdered African American George Floyd was "a drug addict and a crook", the Oscars "An Afro-Korean Festival", Islam "an infection stove for humanity". And about Hitler she said: "I don't quite understand the World War against Hitler, he just had his opinion about Jews." The outcry was huge.

Karla Sofía Gascón's reaction? She deleted her tweets and her entire X account and apologized several times via Instagram and in TV interviews with explanations such as: "I am deeply sorry for those I have caused pain." The tweeds were created during the pandemic that it was in a shit phase and used social media as a "diary". She meant a lot of things ironically.

But it was too late, the public and the entire film industry had already made the judgment about Gascón. Director Jacques Audiard said that he never wanted to speak a word with Gascón, she was unloaded by all film festivals and red carpets, Netflix excluded her from the Oscar campaign for "Emilia Pérez" and no longer paid for usual things such as her travel costs or outfits for awards ceremonies.

There are many people who have been canceled absolutely right - especially in Hollywood. Those who take advantage of their power or even become attacked should not be celebrated and promoted. Wokenity is important because we can expect people in public to consider who they hurt and reduce with their statements - actually we can even expect it from everyone. It is therefore absolutely justified that Gascón is criticized for their discriminatory statements.

But sometimes we also have to keep in mind what this is about here: We talk about sometimes ten years old statements that she has made at a time when she had no experience with the public. Were your tweeds wrong? In any case. But she too saw her mistake, apologized for it. It is a shame above all about representation that she could have created for trans people at the Oscars 2025.

When Karla Sofía Gascón was the first transgender person to be the best actress in Cannes, she didn't know how deep she would fall in a few months. In her acceptance speech, she devoted the prize to all trans people: “Tomorrow there will be many comments from terrible people who always say the same things about us trans-people. But I want to end with a message of hope ... We all have the chance to improve for the positive, to become better people. " And that is exactly what she can now become the best proof.