Zoe Saldaña continues to assume by way of the backlash in opposition to her Emilia Pérez costar Karla Sofía Gascón, after racist and Islamophobic social media posts that she had made prior to now surfaced on social media Jan. 30.

"I'm unhappy. Time and time once more, that's the phrase as a result of that’s the sentiment that has been residing in my chest since all the things occurred," Saldaña informed Variety, in an excerpt of an upcoming episode of its Awards Circuit Podcast, printed Wednesday. "I'm additionally upset. I can't communicate for different individuals's actions. All I can attest to is my expertise, and by no means in 1,000,000 years did I ever imagine that we might be right here."

Karla Sofía Gascón apologizes for offensive social media posts: 'All my life I’ve fought for a greater world'

Saldaña mentioned the one who wrote the offensive social media posts was not the one she labored with on the musical thriller. "I can't attest to what individuals do of their personal time with their personal handles," she mentioned.

Although the Avatar star's feedback echoed statements she made in January, she mentioned she was nonetheless determining precisely how she felt concerning the state of affairs.

"You could imagine that it's only a assertion I got here up with alongside my staff, however on the finish of the day, once I can't communicate on behalf of anybody else, I can solely communicate on behalf of myself and what I witnessed," Saldaña mentioned. "And that must be sufficient for now. I'm nonetheless processing. I actually assume that this can be a studying expertise. Every part in life is a studying expertise for all of us. And the purpose of uncomfortable occasions is for the sake of evolution. So I hope that we proceed transferring in the best course."

The unfavourable Gascón story is getting severe consideration, simply because the Oscars close to. Nominations revealed final month confirmed that Emilia Pérez can be up for 13 statuettes — greater than every other movie this 12 months, together with greatest image and performing awards each for Gascón, who's the primary overtly transgender particular person to be nominated for an performing Oscar, within the Greatest Actress class and Saldaña for Greatest Supporting Actress. It's Saldaña's first Oscar nomination, and EW predicts she'll win the class regardless of the controversy.

"I'm permitting myself to nonetheless expertise that pleasure as a result of we did come collectively as a staff,” Saldaña mentioned. “However we’re additionally people who’re accountable for all the things that we are saying and all the things that we do."

Emilia Pérez director doesn't want to talk to 'self-destructive' Karla Sofía Gascón amid controversy: 'Playing the victim'

In the meantime, the movie's director, Jacques Audiard, has disavowed Gascón, saying that she is "in a self-destructive strategy."

"It's very exhausting for me to assume again to the work I did with Karla Sofía," he informed Deadline in an interview printed Wednesday. "The belief we shared, the distinctive environment that we had on the set that was certainly primarily based on belief. And when you’ve that form of relationship and immediately you learn one thing that that particular person has mentioned, issues which can be completely hateful and worthy of being hated, after all that relationship is affected. It’s as in the event you fall right into a gap. As a result of what Karla Sofía mentioned is inexcusable."

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Neither had spoken to Gascón, who apologized the identical day the posts went viral.

"I need to acknowledge the dialog round my previous social media posts which have brought on damage," she informed The Hollywood Reporter. "As somebody in a marginalized neighborhood, I do know this struggling all too effectively and I’m deeply sorry to these I’ve brought on ache. All my life I’ve fought for a greater world. I imagine gentle will at all times overcome darkness."

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