Zoe Saldaña accomplished her “Emilia Pérez” victory lap Sunday by choosing up the Academy Award for Greatest Supporting Actress.
Saldaña’s Oscars win was extensively anticipated after the actor snagged Golden Globe, BAFTA and Display Actors Guild (SAG) awards for her much-praised efficiency. She beat out fellow contenders Monica Barbaro, Ariana Grande, Felicity Jones and Isabella Rossellini for the Academy Award.
The actor used her acceptance speech to thank her husband of 12 years, Marco Perego, in addition to her immigrant household.
“I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last,” Saldaña mentioned.
“The fact that I am getting an award for a role where I got to sing and speak in Spanish — my grandmother, if she were here, she would be so delighted,” she continued. “This is for my grandmother.”
Till not too long ago, “Emilia Pérez” was anticipated to be an awards season juggernaut for Netflix, which snapped up the Spanish-language musical thriller for a reported $12 million after its premiere at France’s Cannes Movie Pageant final 12 months.
The movie’s titular character is a Mexican cartel chief (performed by Karla Sofía Gascón) who enlists the assistance of an lawyer, Rita Mora Castro (Saldaña), to stage her demise in order that she will be able to bear gender affirmation surgical procedure.
4 years later, Emilia initiates a reunion along with her grieving spouse (Selena Gomez) and their kids, all of whom assume she’s useless.
Although most critiques of “Emilia Pérez” had been constructive, the film was closely criticized in Mexico for its considerably irreverent tackle cartel violence. GLAAD and different LGBTQ+ advocacy teams additionally deemed the movie “retrograde” when it comes to transgender illustration on the massive display screen.
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In January, nevertheless, “Emilia Pérez” picked up a staggering 13 Academy Award nominations, together with a historic nod for Gascón, who turned the primary brazenly trans lady to be nominated for the Greatest Actress Oscar.
However Gascón quickly thrust “Emilia Pérez” into the epicenter of a media firestorm when she accused fellow Oscar nominee Fernanda Torres’ group of talking badly in regards to the movie, elevating considerations about violating the Academy’s marketing campaign guidelines within the course of.
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Days later, a collection of years-old X (previously Twitter) posts from Gascón’s account resurfaced by which she expressed incendiary views about Muslims, Jews, George Floyd and Oscars variety, amongst different matters.
Gascón apologized for her feedback, however continued to stoke the fallout with questionable media appearances and social media remarks. Netflix responded by eradicating her from its “Emilia Pérez” promotional marketing campaign solely.
