Media365
Oscars 2025: The 97th Academy Awards kicked off at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with Conan O’Brien hosting the prestigious ceremony for the first time. After weeks of staying out of the public eye, Karla Sofía Gascón, nominee and Emilia Pérez star made a striking appearance at the event. Amid her controversies, Gascón avoided the media frenzy and skipped the red carpet, opting for a low-key entrance into the auditorium. What caught everyone’s eye was she taking her seat directly in front of her co-star, Selena Gomez, and the host did not miss the chance to take a jibe at her.
Conan O’Brien took the stage at the 2025 Academy Awards, introduced as a “four-time Oscars watcher,” following a dazzling performance by nominees Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. While at first, O’Brien’s jokes seemed to poke fun, but his humour took a sharp turn when he cracked a joke about Best Picture frontrunner Karla. “Anora uses the f-word 479 times,” O’Brien quipped. “That’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist.”
In character, he shouted, “You tweeted what?” prompting gasps and laughter from the Hollywood crowd. Shrugging it off, he added with a grin, “I’m having fun.” The remark referenced the controversy surrounding Gascón’s campaign, which was marred by resurfaced tweets from years prior, containing racist, xenophobic, and antisemitic statements.
Conan O’Brien then addressed the Emilia Pérez star directly. “Karla Sofía Gascón is here tonight. Karla, if you’re going to tweet about the Oscars, remember my name is Jimmy Kimmel,” he said. Gascón appeared confused, turning to those seated beside her and then laughed.
Her appearance with Selena Gomez also sparked interest, as Gascón had previously faced backlash in 2022 for calling Gomez, her co-star, a “rich rat.”
For the unversed, Karla Sofía Gascón faced criticism after old posts from her X account resurfaced, revealing controversial opinions on Muslims, George Floyd, and diversity at the Oscars. These posts, mostly from 2020 and 2021, sparked heated debate when journalist Sarah Hagi highlighted them. Many of the posts were deleted following the revelations.
