Neither Zoe Saldana or Emilia Perez composers mentioned under-fire Karla Sofia Gascon in their victory speeches at the 2025 Critics’ Choice Awards.
Emilia Perez star Gascon, 52, was plunged into controversy last month after her past offensive tweets surfaced, and the film’s director Jacques Audiard and reportedly Netflix as well have both publicly distanced themselves from the transgender actress.
The divide continued Friday night at the Critics’ Choice Awards, where Gascon was mentioned not once by Saldana, Camille, and Clément Ducol, 43, in their victory speeches.
Saldana, 46, starred opposite Gascon in the Netflix film, and earned the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress while El Mal – a track featuring the vocals of both Saldana and Gascon – won Best Song.
Singer Camille, 46, who composed the track and sings in it, gave Saldana a shout-out in her address, praising her as a ‘great artist’ – yet had nothing to say about Gascon.
‘Thank you so much Jacques Audiard to allow the bird in me and us to write and… these songs and enchant the world. Thank you to all the Emilia Perez team. Thank you so much Zoe for being such a great artist. Thank you,’ Camille said.
Neither Zoe Saldana or Emilia Perez composers mentioned under-fire Karla Sofia Gascon in their victory speeches at the 2025 Critics’ Choice Awards
Camille and her husband Clement Ducol accepted the award for Best Song for El Mal
Camille’s husband, Ducol, who composed El Mal with his wife, did not mention Gascon either as he praised the city of Los Angeles and the firefighters in his speech.
Among those given shout-outs in her speech, Saldana specifically thanked the film’s director, her husband Marco Perego, their three sons, and nephew.
‘To think that Emilia Perez has been the little movie that could and has resonated with so many people has been an experience worth having. So thank you Jacques Audiard for this entire team and the entire team for trusting me with Rita. I share this with all of you. Playing Rita was the challenge of a lifetime,’ she said in her speech.
‘So all the flowers to you Jacques for believing I could fill in her shoes. To the entire cast and crew, the talented artists and designers and musicians, I share this with you,’ she added.
‘Thank you Why Not productions, Ted, Bella, and the Netflix team, Lisa, thank you, for believing this was a story that needed to be told. Thank you to my family, especially my incredible husband, and my nephew, who is with me tonight. You made me me. And to my boys, my greatest adventure and my toughest critics, I love you.’
Director Jacques accepted the award for Best Foreign Language Film, and while he did not specifically name any actor in the film in his speech – including Gascon – he did broadly thank his cast for their efforts.
‘Thank you to my magnificent cast,’ he said in a speech that was translated on stage from French to English.
The controversy surrounding Gascon broke just weeks before the Oscars, where Emilia Perez is up for multiple awards, including Best Actress for Karla.
Saldana stars opposite Gascon in Emilia Perez, and the film’s director and reportedly Netflix as well have distanced themselves from Karla as a result of her social media controversy
Among those given shout-outs, Saldana specifically thanked the film’s director, her husband Marco Perego, their three sons, and nephew
Camille – who composed El Mal and also sings it with Karla and Zoe – did not mention Gascon in her speech though did shout-out Saldana
Recently Audiard condemned Gascon and accused her of hurting the cast and crew of Emilia Perez by refusing to stay silent in the wake of her social media scandal.
‘I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to. She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why?’ he told Deadline.
‘I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us,’ he continued.
‘I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions.’
Despite his harsh words, Audiard admitted that he had a great relationship with Gascon up until her old social media posts came to light.
‘It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía. The trust we shared, the exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set that was indeed based on trust,’ he said.
Her husband also did not mention Gascon in a speech praising the city of Los Angeles and firefighters
Director Jacques accepted the award for Best Foreign Language Film, and while he did not specifically name any actor in the film in his speech – including Gascon – he did broadly thank his cast for their efforts
‘And when you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected. It’s as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable.’
He also accused the actress of ‘playing the victim’ in the wake of the scandal.
Audiard isn’t the only one to ditch Gascon, with Netflix essentially removing her from their Emilia Perez Oscar campaign, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The streaming giant has reportedly invested millions in the Spanish musical’s awards push after it garnered 13 nominations, including a Best Actress nod for leading lady Gascon, but Gascón will no longer be part of their campaign.
Netflix reportedly has ‘no great interest’ in providing Gascon with ‘transportation and accommodations’ for any of the remaining awards season gatherings.
She will reportedly no longer attend a slew of previously scheduled events, including the Critics Choice Awards, Directors Guild of America Awards, and the Santa Barbara Film Festival.
The controversy surrounding Gascon comes at the height of awards season and just weeks before the Oscars, where Emilia Perez – and Gascon herself – are up for multiple awards
Variety has also reported that Gascon’s image has been scrubbed from a lot of the Emilia Perez promotional material, as Netflix shifts their focus to centering their campaign around Zoe Saldana, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, a number of prominent film-related accounts commented on Gascón being absent from a promotional poster the streamer purportedly released touting the movie’s 13 Academy Award nominations, but omitting Gascón’s name and image.
Gascon has issued multiple apologies and statements since her offensive social media posts first resurfaced.
‘I’m sorry, but I can no longer allow this campaign of hate and misinformation to affect me and my family, so at their request I am closing my account on X,’ Gascon wrote in the statement via The Hollywood Reporter.
‘I have been threatened with death, insulted, abused and harassed to the point of exhaustion,’ she wrote.
‘I have a wonderful daughter to protect, whom I love madly and who supports me in everything,’ she continued.
Recently Audiard condemned Gascon and accused her of hurting the cast and crew of Emilia Perez by refusing to stay silent in the wake of her social media scandal
‘I have defended each and every one of the minorities in this world and supported any event against racism, freedom of religion or homophobia, in the same way that I have criticized the hypocrisy that underlies them, because the first thing I am self-critical of is myself,’ she added.
The new statement comes on the heels of her first apology, in which she said she was ‘deeply sorry’ for any ‘hurt’ and ‘pain’ she may have caused in tweets she made on X.
The posts were uncovered by Muslim writer Sarah Hagi and translated into English by Variety.
One post, from November 2020 read: ‘I’m sorry. Is it just my impression or is there more muslims in Spain? Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.’
Another post from September 2020 featured a photo of a Muslim family dining in a restaurant in traditional Islamic attire, which included the wife covered from head-to-toe in a black burqa.
‘Islam is marvelous, without any machismo. Women are respected, and when they are so respected they are left with a little squared hole on their faces for their eyes to be visible and their mouths, but only if she behaves. Although they dress this way for their own enjoyment. How DEEPLY DISGUSTING OF HUMANITY,’ Gascón wrote.
Audiard isn’t the only one to ditch Gascon, with Netflix essentially removing her from their Emilia Perez Oscar campaign, according to The Hollywood Reporter
She also posted about George Floyd, whose murder by Minneapolis police, as he protested ‘I can’t breathe’, sparked the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.
Gascón wrote: ‘I really think that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict swindler, but his death has served to once again demonstrate that there are people who still consider black people to be monkeys without rights and consider policemen to be assassins. They are both wrong.’
The actress added: ‘Too many things to reflect on regarding the behavior of our species every time an event occurs. Perhaps it is no longer a question of racism, but of social classes that feel threatened by each other. Maybe that’s the only real difference.’
And even though she hopes to take home the Oscar next month for her role in Emilia Perez, even that revered ceremony didn’t escape her criticism in 2021.
‘More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films, I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration or the 8M. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala,’ she posted.
She also criticized China during the Covid pandemic, writing: ‘The Chinese vaccine, apart from the mandatory chip, comes with two spring rolls, a cat that moves its hand, 2 plastic flowers, a pop-up lantern, 3 telephone lines and one euro for your first controlled purchase.’
Karla also body shamed Adele over her weight loss in another resurfaced X post.
She speculated the singer, 36, had loose skin on her arms after her body transformation in a May 6, 2020 post.
Sharing photos of Adele in glamorous gowns, the Spanish actress wrote: ‘COVID passed, and she went overboard with the sleeves, or she went under the knife and they didn’t remove the skin from her arms @Adele.’
Responding to the controversy in a statement to DailyMail.com, Gascón said, ‘I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt.’
She continued, ‘As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am 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.’
Critics Choice Awards 2025 winners
MOVIES
BEST PICTURE
A Complete Unknown
Anora — WINNER
The Brutalist
Conclave
Dune: Part Two
Emilia Pérez
Nickel Boys
Sing Sing
The Substance
Wicked
Wicked leads the way with 11 nominations
BEST ACTOR
Adrien Brody – The Brutalist — WINNER
Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
Ralph Fiennes is nominated in the Best Actor category for his work in Conclave, which also earned 11 nods
BEST ACTRESS
Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
Marianne Jean-Baptiste – Hard Truths
Angelina Jolie – Maria
Mikey Madison – Anora
Demi Moore – The Substance — WINNER
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Yura Borisov – Anora
Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain — WINNER
Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor – Nickel Boys
Ariana Grande – Wicked
Margaret Qualley – The Substance
Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
Zoe Saldaña – Emilia Pérez — WINNER
Ariana Grande earned a Best Supporting Actress nod for her role as Glinda in Wicked
BEST YOUNG ACTOR / ACTRESS
Alyla Browne – Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Elliott Heffernan – Blitz
Maisy Stella – My Old Ass — WINNER
Izaac Wang – Didi
Alisha Weir – Abigail
Zoe Ziegler – Janet Planet
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Anora
Conclave — WINNER
Emilia Pérez
Saturday Night
Sing Sing
Wicked
BEST DIRECTOR
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Sean Baker – Anora
Edward Berger – Conclave
Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
Jon M. Chu – Wicked — WINNER
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
Denis Villeneuve – Dune: Part Two
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Sean Baker – Anora
Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum, Alex David – September 5
Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
Coralie Fargeat – The Substance — WINNER
Justin Kuritzkes – Challengers
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox – Wicked
Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley – Sing Sing
RaMell Ross & Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys
Peter Straughan – Conclave — WINNER
Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts – Dune: Part Two
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu — WINNER
Alice Brooks – Wicked
Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
Stéphane Fontaine – Conclave
Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys
Dune: Part Two earned 10 nominations, including a Best Cinematography nod for Greig Fraser
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia – The Brutalist
Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales – Wicked — WINNER
Suzie Davies – Conclave
Craig Lathrop – Nosferatu
Arthur Max, Jille Azis, Elli Griff – Gladiator II
Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau – Dune: Part Two
BEST EDITING
Sean Baker – Anora
Marco Costa – Challengers — WINNER
Nick Emerson – Conclave
David Jancso – The Brutalist
Joe Walker – Dune: Part Two
Hansjörg Weißbrich – September 5
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Lisy Christl – Conclave
Linda Muir – Nosferatu
Massimo Cantini Parrini – Maria
Paul Tazewell – Wicked — WINNER
Jacqueline West – Dune: Part Two
Janty Yates, Dave Crossman – Gladiator II
BEST HAIR AND MAKEUP
Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener, Neal Scanlan – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Hair and Makeup Team – Dune: Part Two
Hair and Makeup Team – The Substance — WINNER
Frances Hannon, Sarah Nuth, Laura Blount – Wicked
Traci Loader, Suzanne Stokes-Munton, David White – Nosferatu
Mike Marino, Sarah Graalman, Aaron Saucier – A Different Man
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Mark Bakowski, Pietro Ponti, Nikki Penny, Neil Corbould – Gladiator II
Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, Paul Corbould, David Shirk – Wicked
Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe, Gerd Nefzer – Dune: Part Two — WINNER
Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft, Peter Stubbs – Better Man
Visual Effects Team – The Substance
Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story, Rodney Burke – Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Flow
Inside Out 2
Memoir of a Snail
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
The Wild Robot — WINNER
BEST COMEDY
A Real Pain — WINNER (TIE)
Deadpool & Wolverine — WINNER (TIE)
Hit Man
My Old Ass
Saturday Night
Thelma
Deadpool & Wolverine earned a Best Comedy nod
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
All We Imagine as Light
Emilia Pérez — WINNER
Flow
I’m Still Here
Kneecap
The Seed of the Sacred Fig
BEST SONG
“Beautiful That Way” – The Last Showgirl – Miley Cyrus
“Compress / Repress” – Challengers – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
“El Mal” – Emilia Pérez – Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Camille — WINNER
“Harper and Will Go West” – Will & Harper – Kristen Wiig
“Kiss the Sky” – The Wild Robot – Maren Morris
“Mi Camino” – Emilia Pérez – Selena Gomez
Selena Gomez earned a nod in the Best Song category for Mi Camino from Emilia Pérez
BEST SCORE
Volker Bertelmann – Conclave
Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
Clément Ducol & Camille – Emilia Pérez
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross – Challengers — WINNER
Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part Two
TELEVISION
BEST DRAMA SERIES
The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)
The Diplomat (Netflix)
Evil (Paramount+)
Industry (HBO | Max)
Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
The Old Man (FX)
Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER
Slow Horses (Apple TV+)
FX series Shōgun leads the way with six nominations, including top honor Best Drama Series
BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jeff Bridges – The Old Man (FX)
Ncuti Gatwa – Doctor Who (Disney+)
Eddie Redmayne – The Day of the Jackal (Peacock)
Hiroyuki Sanada – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER
Rufus Sewell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Antony Starr – The Boys (Prime Video)
BEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Caitriona Balfe – Outlander (Starz)
Kathy Bates – Matlock (CBS) — WINNER
Shanola Hampton – Found (NBC)
Keira Knightley – Black Doves (Netflix)
Keri Russell – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Anna Sawai – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)
Anna Sawai was recognized in the Best Actress in a Drama Series category for her work in Shogun
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Tadanobu Asano – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER
Michael Emerson – Evil (Paramount+)
Mark-Paul Gosselaar – Found (NBC)
Takehiro Hira – Shōgun (FX / Hulu)
John Lithgow – The Old Man (FX)
Sam Reid – Interview with the Vampire (AMC)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Moeka Hoshi – Shōgun (FX / Hulu) — WINNER
Allison Janney – The Diplomat (Netflix)
Nicole Kidman – Special Ops: Lioness (Paramount+)
Skye P. Marshall – Matlock (CBS)
Anna Sawai – Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Fiona Shaw – Bad Sisters (Apple TV+)
BEST COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
English Teacher (FX)
Hacks (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)
St. Denis Medical (NBC)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Abbott Elementary is nominated for Best Comedy Series
BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Brian Jordan Alvarez – English Teacher (FX)
Adam Brody – Nobody Wants This (Netflix) — WINNER
David Alan Grier – St. Denis Medical (NBC)
Steve Martin – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Kayvan Novak – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Martin Short – Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Kristen Bell – Nobody Wants This (Netflix)
Quinta Brunson – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Natasia Demetriou – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Bridget Everett – Somebody Somewhere (HBO | Max)
Jean Smart – Hacks (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Kristen Wiig – Palm Royale (Apple TV+)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Paul W. Downs – Hacks (HBO | Max)
Asher Grodman – Ghosts (CBS)
Harvey Guillén – What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Brandon Scott Jones – Ghosts (CBS)
Michael Urie – Shrinking (Apple TV+) — WINNER
Tyler James Williams – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Liza Colón-Zayas – The Bear (FX / Hulu)
Hannah Einbinder – Hacks (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Janelle James – Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Stephanie Koenig – English Teacher (FX)
Patti LuPone – Agatha All Along (Disney+)
Annie Potts – Young Sheldon (CBS)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
Baby Reindeer (Netflix) — WINNER
Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Masters of the Air (Apple TV+)
Mr Bates vs the Post Office (PBS)
The Penguin (HBO | Max)
Ripley (Netflix)
True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)
We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)
Baby Reindeer is up for Best Limited Series
BEST MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
The Great Lillian Hall (HBO | Max)
It’s What’s Inside (Netflix)
Música (Prime Video)
Out of My Mind (Disney+)
Rebel Ridge (Netflix) — WINNER
V/H/S/Beyond (Shudder)
BEST ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Colin Farrell – The Penguin (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Richard Gadd – Baby Reindeer (Netflix)
Tom Hollander – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
Kevin Kline – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Ewan McGregor – A Gentleman in Moscow (Paramount+)
Andrew Scott – Ripley (Netflix)
BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Cate Blanchett – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Jodie Foster – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)
Jessica Lange – The Great Lillian Hall (HBO | Max)
Cristin Milioti – The Penguin (HBO | Max) — WINNER
Phoebe-Rae Taylor – Out of My Mind (Disney+)
Naomi Watts – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Robert Downey Jr. – The Sympathizer (HBO | Max)
Hugh Grant – The Regime (HBO | Max)
Ron Cephas Jones – Genius: MLK/X (National Geographic)
Logan Lerman – We Were the Lucky Ones (Hulu)
Liev Schreiber – The Perfect Couple (Netflix) — WINNER
Treat Williams – FEUD: Capote vs. The Swans (FX)
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Dakota Fanning – Ripley (Netflix)
Leila George – Disclaimer (Apple TV+)
Betty Gilpin – Three Women (Starz)
Jessica Gunning – Baby Reindeer (Netflix) — WINNER
Deirdre O’Connell – The Penguin (HBO | Max)
Kali Reis – True Detective: Night Country (HBO | Max)
Jessica Gunning is up for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for Baby Reindeer
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE SERIES
Acapulco (Apple TV+)
Citadel: Honey Bunny (Prime Video)
La Máquina (Hulu)
The Law According to Lidia Poët (Netflix)
My Brilliant Friend (HBO | Max)
Pachinko (Apple TV+)
Senna (Netflix)
Squid Game (Netflix) — WINNER
BEST ANIMATED SERIES
Batman: Caped Crusader (Prime Video)
Bluey (Disney+)
Bob’s Burgers (Fox)
Invincible (Prime Video)
The Simpsons (Fox)
X-Men ’97 (Disney+) — WINNER
BEST TALK SHOW
Hot Ones (YouTube)
The Daily Show (Comedy Central)
The Graham Norton Show (BBC America)
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody’s in L.A. (Netflix) — WINNER
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBC/Syndicated)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
BEST COMEDY SPECIAL
Ali Wong: Single Lady (Netflix) — WINNER
Jim Gaffigan: The Skinny (Hulu)
Kevin James: Irregardless (Prime Video)
Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die (HBO | Max)
Rachel Bloom: Death, Let Me Do My Special (Netflix)
Ramy Youssef: More Feelings (HBO | Max)
