Zoe Saldana expressed her sadness over the criticism faced by her Emilia Perez co-star Karla Sofia Gascon, emphasizing the importance of empathy, inclusivity, and growth in addressing past mistakes.

Journalist Sara Hagi discovered Gascón’s history of racist, Islamophobic and antisemitic posts on Thursday, days after Gascón became the first openly trans person to be nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. While some of the since-deleted posts dated to 2016, she’d made others as recently as 2023.

In her first public statement addressing the controversy surrounding her ' co-star Karla Sofia Gascon, actress Zoe Saldana expressed her sadness and disappointment over the recent revelation of Gascon's past bigoted tweets.