Has anybody had a crazier awards season than Zoë Saldaña? The franchise veteran is used to being in movies that have popular support, even if they don’t gain much love from the Academy or critics. Well, now she’s in the exact opposite situation with Emilia Pérez, which, depending on how you look at it, is either much-maligned or much-beloved. And as a supporting actress, she’s the primary beneficiary. When the movie premiered at Cannes International Film Festival in May 2024, Saldaña was one of four of its actresses to share a Best Actress win, and she’s been scooping up trophies for her performance as Rita, the beleaguered, dancing lawyer, ever since. But she’s also living through the great Karla Sofía Gascón implosion after Gascón’s racist tweets were uncovered and resurfaced online. Gascón addressed the controversy in a statement on February 1, saying she is not the same person she was “10 to 20 years ago.” Still, the apology hasn’t stopped Gascón from becoming an all-time Oscars villain.
“I’m sad,” Saldaña told Variety on February 5. “I’m also disappointed. I can’t speak for other people’s actions. All I can attest to is my experience, and never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here.” Here’s how Saldaña’s speeches have evolved throughout this awards season in the midst of this very tricky situation.
Golden Globes
January 4, 2025: Saldaña’s first televised speech was a feast of tears and emotions. “This is a first time for me,” she said while still crying. “And I’m just so blessed that I’m sharing this moment with Selena and Karla.”
“No one other than you could have played Emilia Pérez,” Saldaña to Gascón. Within a month, Saldaña would have to start artfully distancing herself from her co-star, but on that night, they were family.
Critics Choice Awards
February 8, 2025: Saldaña didn’t win a televised award again until well into the Gascón scandal, and in just a month’s time, she dropped Gascón mentions but kept the emotion high. She focused this speech on her director, Jacques Audiard. “Playing Rita was the challenge of a lifetime, so all the flowers to you, Jacques, for believing that I could fill in her shoes.”
BAFTAs
February 16, 2025: “I was told not to cry by my children,” Saldaña said in the opening of her BAFTAs speech. They know! Tears work! But more importantly, she did mention Gascón. “I want to thank my beautiful cast,” Saldaña said. “Karla, Selena, Edgar, Adriana, and the crew.” The camera crew then cut to Selena Gomez, since she was there — Gascón, who was nominated, had been rumored to skip the show. Next up: the Screen Actors Guild Awards on February 23. More tears? More gratitude to the full cast? We’ll be watching.
SAG Awards
February 26, 2025: In her SAG Award acceptance speech, Saldaña began by thanking her fellow nominees, before noting that “I got my first SAG card in 1998, and I didn’t know what SAG was.” She added that her family taught her about it and, “what it means to be a part of a union.” She avoided thanking Gascón by not really mentioning anyone who was part of the movie, instead giving a sort of half-hearted statement for trans rights. “I believe everybody has the right to be who they are,” she said. “And Emilia Pérez is about truth and it is about love.” If you say so!
The Oscars
March 2, 2025: By the time the Best Supporting Actress category came on at the Oscars, Conan O’Brien had already made multiple jokes about Emilia Pérez’s X situation. So, she entered a fraught situation in her speech. She began by shouting “Mami!” which was, in fact, adorable. Not mentioned was Gascón (or anything about trans rights). She did focus on her Dominican heritage. “I am a proud child of immigrant parents,” she said. “With dreams and dignity and hard-working hands, and I am the first American of Dominican origin to accept an Academy Award, and I know I will not be the last.” Gascón may have been at the ceremony, but that doesn’t mean she warranted a “thank you.”