Gascón knows that when “Emilia Pérez” debuts on Netflix, her trans identity will be subjected to scrutiny from a global audience. Even during her Cannes speech in May, she predicted, “Tomorrow, there will be plenty of comments from terrible people saying the same things about all of us trans people.” Indeed, the morning after, the French politician Marion Maréchal posted on X a comment that translated to: “So a man has won best actress.”
Gascón filed a legal complaint about the insult and posted her own colorful rejoinder on X a few days later: “No matter how much you bark, you gargoyles of Beelzebub,” Gascón wrote, “you will not be able to blur what I have achieved.”
This pattern — for every personal victory, a public controversy — is one Gascón has gotten used to, though going forward, she hopes she will be less inclined to engage with people who attack her in bad faith.
“I think I can contribute more just by talking about my work,” she said, “even though I’ve received hundreds of offers to talk to people and I still get the hunch sometimes to talk to J.K. Rowling and tell her, ‘Hey, what’s your problem?’” She was referring to the “Harry Potter” author’s negative comments on trans women and her criticism of the Olympic boxer Imane Khelif, whose eligibility was questioned despite the International Olympic Committee’s strong defense: “It’s always the same story of these people trying to find a new victim to generate more hate.”
Though she conceded that words could sometimes wound her, Gascón felt it was a small price to pay for personal authenticity. “I have a level of freedom that many would envy,” she said. She said she hoped that feeling of inner peace could be retained during the monthslong awards campaign about to begin.
“I am 52 years old, and at this age I am in balance,” she said. “Other people are thinking, ‘Wow, this is a special moment, you must be very nervous or very excited.’ No, I am normal. I prefer it that way.”
Whether she makes Oscar history for “Emilia Pérez,” only one thing has her truly concerned.
“What I’m afraid of,” she said, “is how am I going to be able to top this?”
Read More: Meet the Trans Actress Who Could Make Oscar History
