Netflix Breaks its Silence Surrounding Emilia Pérez Controversy

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Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria has broken the streaming service’s silence on the continued controversy surrounding Oscar contender Emilia Pérez.

Jacques Audiard’s musical feature boasts 13 Academy Award nominations, the most of any film at this year’s awards. Its star, Karla Sofía Gascón, made history as the first openly trans woman to be nominated for Best Actress. Gascón, however, recently became the target of significant criticism after the emergence of a series of racist and transphobic tweets she authored about George Floyd, Muslims, the LGBTQ+ movement, and diversity at the Oscars. The irony is not lost on us.

Netflix’s Bajaria appeared on The Town podcast to address the controversy. “I think it’s really a bummer for the 100 incredibly talented people who made an amazing movie,” Bajaria said. “And if you look at the nominations, and all of this awards love that it’s received, I think it’s such a bummer that it distracted from that. It really has kind of taken the conversation in a different way [from] this incredible movie that Jacques Audiard — who is an incredible director — has made. It really is a bummer for a lot of the people, like Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. And our awards team did an incredible campaign for that movie.”

After being asked if Netflix would adjust its vetting practices, Bajaria responded: “It’s not really common practice for people to vet social tweets that way… I think we’re having conversations about that. Are we going to actually look at the personal social media of the tens of thousands of people every single day around the world, [given] the amount of original film and TV that we make? And licensing and co-productions? It raises a lot of questions.”

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Many of those involved in the film have distanced themselves from Gascón, and Netflix has minimized her visibility in the film’s publicity in the lead up to the Oscars. After multiple performative attempts to defend herself, Gascón removed herself from the film’s Oscar campaign, skipping the DGAs, PGAs, Critics Choice, and BAFTAs. Last week, the actress wrote that she planned to remain silent throughout the remainder of Emilia Pérez’s campaign “to allow the film to be appreciated for what it is.”

But, what is Emilia Pérez? Although the film has been lauded for its contributions to LGBTQ+ and Latine storytelling, many within these communities were simultaneously left disappointed and even offended by what they saw on screen.

Leila Jordan of The AV Club spoke to Los Angeles Times columnist Gustavo Arellano about the film’s reduction of Mexicans to clichéd stereotypes. “Hollywood still can’t help but to simplify our stories into archetypes that American audiences can easily understand,” he told Jordan. “There has never been subtlety when it comes to Hollywood and Mexicans.”

Audiard, meanwhile, deliberately chose to film in the Spanish language because he believes it to be “the language of modest countries, of developing countries, of the poor and migrants.” Yikes. The film also portrays trans women in a less than savory manner. Pérez is depicted as a murderous family-deserter who becomes violent when angry. Her character is complete with vocal range deviations that many trans women have called biologically inaccurate for those undergoing hormone replacement therapy. Audiard uses Pérez’s transition as a plot device, rather than examining her character and lived experience in any meaningful way. Detractors have concluded that he reduces her identity to tropes, relying on stereotypes that perpetuate misconceptions about trans women.

It is clear that Emilia Pérez’s controversy long predated Karla Sofía Gascón’s. Yet, Netflix, confronted with a PR crisis revolving around a single star, is seemingly taking advantage of the opportunity to sweep earlier controversies under the rug. Bajaria concluded her uninspiring statement with an apathetic: “If you asked me today, with everything I know, we would still buy the movie.” Her words are a perfect embodiment of Hollywood’s indifference to the genuine concerns of the marginalized communities it profits off of. The long-awaited acknowledgement reasserts that Netflix and Hollywood will continue to utilize performative action, tokenize minority communities, and ultimately prioritize profit over accountability.

A.J. Weiler writes about culture and entertainment. You can find her on Medium and Muck Rack.