'Emilia Pérez' controversy: Why 'torturous' movie is criticized for its representation

"Emilia Pérez" has been widely considered a best picture front-runner going into the Academy Awards on March 2. As of late, that seems up for debate.

The Netflix crime musical follows a lawyer (Zoe Salda?a) hired by a cartel boss (Karla Sofi?a Gasco?n) who wants to undergo gender-confirming surgery. It received acclaim when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May and has since picked up four Golden Globes at January's award show, including best movie comedy or musical, best non-English language film and a best supporting actress victory for Salda?a.

And that was before its leading 13 Oscar nominations. The nominations are historic for breakthrough star Gasco?n, who earned an Academy Award nomination for best actress, becoming the first openly trans actress to receive an Oscar nod.

Despite much critical praise, there is plenty of controversy surrounding the film. Here's why.

'Emilia Pérez' director Jacques Audiard addresses Karla Sofía Gascón tweet controversy

In a Q&A with Deadline published Feb. 5, the French director distanced himself from the Spanish actress, who has made a number of public statements in response to her racist and xenophobic social media posts that an X user resurfaced last week.

"It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofi?a," Audiard told Deadline. "The trust we shared, the exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set that was indeed based on trust. 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."

He called Gascón's posts "inexcusable" and confirmed he has not been in contact with her over the past week. He said he does not plan on "getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions."

'She’s harming people': 'Emilia Pérez' director distances himself from star Karla Sofía Gascón

Zoe Salda?a says she doesn't support Karla Sofía Gascón's views

During a Q&A in London, Salda?a addressed the controversy, telling the audience she is "still processing everything that has transpired in the last couple of days, and I'm sad," according to a video shared by The Hollywood Reporter.

"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," Saldan?a said.

'I don't support it': Zoe Salda?a addresses her 'Emilia Pérez' co-star's controversial tweets

Gascón's controversial tweets: Oscar-nominated actress in PR crisis over racist, xenophobic views

Before deactivating her X account, and apologizing numerous times via social media and a CNN en Espan?ol interview, Gascón had shared posts aimed at Muslim people and diversity at the Academy Awards.

In one of the posts dated Nov. 23, 2020, which was translated by USA TODAY, Gascón wrote in Spanish: "Sorry, is it just me or are there more Muslims in Spain? Every time I 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 …"

In another post, the Oscar nominee also criticized The Academy for its 2021 awards show ceremony, the first following the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

"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," Gascón wrote. "Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala."

'Emilia Pérez' mixed reception over Mexican representation

Some are criticizing the Spanish-language movie musical for its lack of Mexican representation in the leading cast and crew: the director is French; the movie was shot entirely in Paris on a soundstage; and of the film's four main actresses, Adriana Paz is the only one born in Mexico.

Selena Gomez, who co-stars as Gasco?n's disgruntled wife, is of Mexican descent. But Gomez has been criticized for her lack of Spanish fluency in the film.

In a TikTok late last year, "CODA" actor Eugenio Derbez slammed her performance as "indefensible" and said that as he watched the movie, he thought, "Wow, what is this?'" The actor agreed with "Hablando de Cine con" podcast host Gaby Meza, who felt Gomez was unable to give nuance to her performance because Spanish isn't her primary language and she didn't understand what she was saying.

Selena Gomez responds to 'Emilia Pe?rez' criticism: 'I did the best I could'

The "Only Murders in the Building" star eventually replied: "I did the best I could with the time I was given. Doesn't take away from how much work and heart I put into this movie." Derbez later apologized to Gomez, saying his "careless comments" went against "everything I stand for."

Reactions on social media have been more critical. A viral X post shared a six-second clip from one of Gomez's scenes and slammed her for "thinking this is an acceptable way to speak Spanish."

Others defended the actress by pointing out that her lack of fluency fits the role. A community note was added to the aforementioned X post stating, "Selena's character, Jessi Del Monte, is American and Spanish is not her first language. The film makes it clear about that."

'Emilia Pérez' criticized for depiction of Mexican drug war

Others have criticized the movie for its sanitized depiction of the Mexican drug war.

"Emilia Perez's film is the unfortunate consequence of years of exporting audiovisual productions that glorify drug trafficking," one X user wrote. "The Mexican cultural elite is full of insensitive vultures who, for simple money, have contributed to this cancer called narco culture."

The drug war has resulted in the deaths of at least 350,000 people as 72,000 remain missing, according to official figures reported by the Washington Post.

Another user wrote, originally in Spanish, of the disappointment felt by "Mexican filmmakers, after decades of thinking of ways to bring the horror of drug violence to the screen, looking for ways to represent it with sensitivity and respect for victims and families, seeing how abroad they reward the trash that is 'Emilia Pérez.'"

In response to such criticism, director Audiard told Deadline that his "opera" is not a documentary and should not be judged for its realism — or lack thereof.

"The representation of the cartels in the film is thematic. It’s not something that I’m particularly focused on in the film. There’s one scene that deals with it," he said. "The real thing that I’m interested in, that I was interested in doing, is that I wanted to make an opera."

"It seems I’m being attacked in the court of realism," he added. "Well, I’ve never claimed that I wanted to make a realistic work. If I wanted to make a work that was particularly documented, then I would do a documentary, but then there would be no singing and dancing."

'Emilia Pérez' criticized for transgender representation

The movie has also received backlash for its trans representation.

Viewers have shared dismay that "Emilia" is the film getting the spotlight for transgender representation, versus underseen films like "I Saw the TV Glow," a movie from a trans director.

"I want to celebrate the first trans woman to be nominated for best actress (and i am) but its for (expletive) emilia perez ... trans women you deserve so much better than that," one user wrote on X.

She's a trans actress and 'a warrior.' Now, this 'Emilia Pérez' star has made history.

"It's wild because Emilia Pérez is literally the worst film with a trans lead we could've asked for at this moment in time," another user wrote. "I feel sorry for Karla Gascón to be making headlines as the first trans woman nominated, when THIS cis nonsense is the screenplay she's being nominated for."

And LGBTQ critics, some of whom are transgender, have denounced the film and its director for outdated depictions of trans people.

Amelia Hansford, a trans critic for LGBTQ+ news site PinkNews, called the film "satirical," "disingenuous" and "harmful."

"It tries to use the idea of transitioning to convey that through her transition, Emilia is trying to repent for the sins she committed in her time as cartel boss," Hansford wrote in her review. "The issue with this is that transition isn't a moral decision, and the act of transitioning alone doesn't somehow absolve you of your past self."

The non-profit LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD called it a "profoundly retrograde portrayal of a trans woman" that "recycles the trans stereotypes, tropes, and clichés of the not-so-distant past."

Them writer Fran Tirado called the film "torturous" and "an idea of transness so completely from the cis imagination."

And Harron Walker, for The Cut, wrote: "I expect that a filmmaker so taken by the concept of transitioning, one who's displayed a certain level of conscious sensitivity in his previous efforts to depict lives unlike his own, to at least display an informed understanding of what that concept actually looks like in practice."

Contributing: Brendan Morrow and Melissa Ruggieri

(This story was updated with new information.)

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Emilia Perez' controversy: Karla Sofia Gascon's tweets draw backlash