Karla Sofía Gascón’s Racist Tweets: ‘I’m Not a Studio Plant

A huge controversy has upended the Oscar race in an awards season defined by historical milestones.
Karla Sofía Gascón, the first openly trans woman nominated for best actress, is now facing backlash after resurfaced tweets exposed years-long patterns of Islamophobic and racist rhetoric.
Culture writer Sarah Hagi, a Canada-based journalist and co-host of the podcast “Scamfluencers,” uncovered the tweets.
While visiting family in Southeast Asia, she followed her instincts, researching Gascón’s political leanings after she noticed a “dog whistle” in a post.
What she discovered was far worse: tweets in Spanish ranging from anti-Muslim sentiment to outright bigotry, all of which had public and unchallenged.
My Oscar Book:
Motivation to investigate Karla Sofia Gascon’s social media?
I wasn’t paying much attention to her at first, but I’m naturally curious, especially when it comes to public figures and their politics. I saw a tweet in which she used the word “Islamist,” which I found intense. It wasn’t conspiracy–I do this with many celebrities. I just searched a term, and what I found was shocking.
Part of a smear campaign?
Absolutely not. I’m not a studio plant. I’m just a person. The idea that a studio would pick me, someone who doesn’t even have TikTok, is hilarious. This was total fluke.
Being a Black Muslim
It’s fair to say it was triggering. I could have looked, and there would be nothing, but it was just a hunch. It doesn’t mean that someone who said something like that is going to have as many racist tweets as she did or as many anti-Muslim tweets as she did. When you have an experience like I do, you know what the dog whistles are, and to me, that was a very clear dog whistle.
It was Wednesday evening for me. I don’t remember the exact time, but I figured I’d post the tweets the following morning because I didn’t think they’d gain traction, but I wanted them to get traction.
There was zero traction, even when she initially tweeted them. This wasn’t some viral controversy waiting to resurface. She had tweeted these things, and they had existed online, unchallenged, from 2016 to 2023. There was no pushback, no visibility. This was just how she was casually tweeting. It wasn’t some deep dive or orchestrated effort — it was all just there.
Gaining attention
So many reasons. First, these tweets weren’t hidden. I’m floored because we’re talking about a frontrunner from one of the most-nominated films in Academy history. Her nomination was historic — the first trans woman nominated for Best Actress.
When someone representing a film built on so-called progressive values has a history of racist and bigoted tweets, it exposes the hypocrisy of it all. This isn’t about meaningful representation — it’s just marketing. And that marketing falls apart when the person at the center of it is a racist bigot.
Cancel Culture?
These tweets existed from 2016 to 2023, which I found based on words I searched. Who knows what else is out there? More tweets have surfaced since.
Gascon’s response
Her apology wasn’t an apology. She didn’t address the marginalized group she targeted. She didn’t acknowledge the harm she caused. And let me be clear: I believe in forgiveness. I don’t think people are irredeemable. I believe they can take accountability and make things right. But her immediate reaction wasn’t to do that. It wasn’t humility. Instead, she said, “Light conquers darkness.” Which — okay, maybe don’t use those words when responding to racist tweets.
This isn’t my fault. It wouldn’t have been anyone else’s fault who found these tweets, either. This is on her. It’s on the people running this campaign. And what’s truly insane is that, even now, she hasn’t explicitly apologized to the group she offended.
I can’t think of another marginalized group that could be targeted in this way, at this scale, without sparking a serious conversation about whether a nomination should even stand. The Academy has to decide what kind of message it wants to send–this level of racism should be disqualifying.
Oscar nomination rescinded?
Absolutely! Especially in today’s climate. The same way they’re calling her film “important” or whatever vague terms are used. It’s just as important to show this is an example of what shouldn’t fly on a global stage. What message is that sending? Are you going to tout a movie around as being “important” and “historical” and then have the star of it say the vilest and racist things? This isn’t controversial; it’s blatant racism. You can’t have it both ways. You can’t have your “representation pick” show how progressive an institution is and then have no consequences for a person who is the opposite of that.