Zoe Saldaña recently opened up again about the controversy surrounding her Emilia Pérez costar, Karla Sofía Gascón, and the offensive comments Gascón made in the past. Zoe Saldaña expressed her thoughts on the matter during the interview.
In an interview with Variety on February 5, Saldaña shared her feelings about the situation, echoing what she said during a January 31 Q&A in London. “I’m sad. That’s the sentiment that’s been living in my chest since everything happened,” Saldaña, 46, explained. “I’m also disappointed. I can’t speak for other people’s actions, but I never imagined we’d be here.” She added that she’s still processing the situation, noting that “it’s not something we have to figure out immediately.”
As a prominent actress, Zoe Saldaña has always maintained a focus on positive representation in the industry.
When asked whether she had spoken with Gascón after journalist Sarah Hagi shared screenshots of past offensive posts from Gascón on X (formerly Twitter), Saldaña chose not to respond directly. “I feel like I’ve spoken enough about it,” she said.
Saldaña’s comments come the same day as Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard condemned Gascón’s past remarks, calling them “inexcusable.” Audiard, who hasn’t spoken to Gascón since the controversy, expressed confusion over her self-destructive behavior, saying, “I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. She’s talking about herself as a victim, which is surprising. It’s as if she thought that words don’t hurt.”
Many fans of Zoe Saldaña appreciate her commitment to standing against racism and bigotry in all forms. In recent years, Zoe Saldaña has become a voice for change, advocating for artists to create freely without fear of backlash.
In a CNN en Español interview on February 2, Gascón claimed that both Saldaña and Selena Gomez “support me 200 percent.” Saldaña quickly clarified her stance, stating, “I do not support any negative rhetoric of racism and bigotry towards any group of people. That is what I want to stand for.” She went on to say, “I will always be a hopeful person. I was not raised to have any negative judgment towards people of any group in any community. While being that person, I can still stand by a body of work that I can be proud of.”
In response to the controversy, Gascón posted on Instagram on February 4, saying she has “nothing to hide” and that she wants “the freedom to exist without fear, to create art without barriers and to move forward with my new life.”
