Karla Sofía Gascón: How offensive tweets impacted Emilia Pérez’s Oscars campaign

Emilia Pérez, a bonkers Spanish-language musical about a Mexican drug lord who changes gender, received 13 Oscar nominations, although it was not necessarily expected to be the biggest winner on the night.

It has stiff competition in several categories, including best picture, but it was thought to be a frontrunner in a few in particular, such as best original song, and best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña.

It was widely thought Saldaña would run away with the trophy, not just for her acclaimed performance, but also because there is a lot of goodwill from voters because of her roles in box office smashes such as the Avatar and Marvel movies.

After the tweets came to light, Saldaña said: “It makes me really sad because I don’t support [it], and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group.

“I can only attest to the experience that I had with each and every individual that was a part, that is a part, of this film, and my experience and my interactions with them was about inclusivity and collaboration and racial, cultural and gender equity. And it just saddens me.”

Then, on Sunday, Saldaña used her speech at the London Critics Circle Awards to tell the audience to be “abstract with your idea of redemption”.

Oscar voters and awards pundits will be watching forthcoming events such as the Bafta Film Awards and SAG Awards to see whether Saldaña can still follow through with her expected win.