Bill Maher thinks “cancel culture” played a role in Emilia Perez’s spectacular flop at this year’s Oscars.
During a recent episode of HBO’s Real Time, Maher told satirist David Sedaris that the outcome of the 97th Academy Awards was impacted by controversies surrounding one of the film’s stars, Karla Sofia Gascon.
“There are people who say cancel culture isn’t a real thing and I would say to them, ‘It just happened at the Oscars,’” Maher said (via The Hollywood Reporter). “You may not think it happened, but the movie that was going to win it all was Emilia Perez.’”
Maher said he thought “Hollywood loved” the notion of awarding the best actress Oscar to “a trans person,” but Gascon’s past social media posts, in which she criticized George Floyd, Muslims and diversity at the Academy Awards, doomed the film’s chances.
He called Gascon’s controversial tweets “a little Kanye-esque,” referencing rapper Kanye West’s own social media outbursts, but said the actress was just being “honest.”
“Some things she said, which are just, ‘Oh yeah. You know what? I’ve said things like that.’ It’s just very, very honest. But of course, the woke community — it was way too far,” he said.
“And this movie, that was going to win it all, it was the front-runner … And good news for (best picture winner) Anora. That’s what happened. So yes, cancel culture is still with us. It may just be a little more subtle.”
With 13 nods, Emilia Perez was the most nominated film at this year’s Academy Awards. After receiving a Golden Globe nomination for her role as a cartel boss who transitions into living as a woman, Gascon was tipped to become the first transgender performer to win an Oscar.
But Gascon fell out of favour when old posts from her X account that took aim at a variety of targets were unearthed in late January.
In one message, Gascon called Floyd, a Black man who was killed by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020, “a drug addict and a hustler” who “very few people ever cared” for.
In other posts, she also suggested that Islam be banned and criticized Muslims’ dress, language and culture in her native Spain.
As the controversy swirled, Gascon issued an apology, saying she was “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,” she said.
The ensuing drama ended up sinking the Spanish-language musical, which only won two awards: best supporting actress for Gascon’s co-star Zoe Saldana and best original song for El Mal.
But Emilia Perez was not as universally liked as Maher might have thought. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a dreadful 16% favourable audience rating. On Netflix, where the film is available to stream, it never ranked highly, and the title was also a flop in Mexico, where it has screened to empty theatres.
After Gascon’s nomination, conservative talk show host Megyn Kelly lashed out at the Oscars for putting her in the running to be named the year’s best actress.
“Among the people nominated for Best Actress is a man – a man I tell you,” Kelly said, referring to Gascon’s birth gender. “He used to be known until he was like in his late 40s as Carlos Gascon. He goes by Karla Sofia Gascon; he is 52 years old and transitioned in 2016 – so called transitioned … My basic take is all these Hollywood women deserve this and I don’t feel sorry for them.”
Gascon’s co-star, Selena Gomez, was also criticized for her accent in the film, with Eugenio Derbez, a well-known Mexican actor and filmmaker, calling her inflections “indefensible.”
“I did the best I could with the time I was given,” Gomez responded.
As the awards season came to an end, Gascon promised “to learn and listen” and not “make the same mistakes in the future.”
“With no excuse, and without any intention to justify any of my past actions, I apologize to all I have offended at any point in my life and throughout my journey,” she said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “I humbly ask for their forgiveness and, to honour their kindness and understanding, I promise I will commit to continuing to learn and listen, so as not to make the same mistakes in the future.”