Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramirez, Selena Gomez, Jacques Audiard, Karla Sofia Gascon, and Zoe Saldana, winners of the Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award for “Emilia Perez,” pose at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., January 5, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni/File Photo

The director of the Oscar-nominated film “Emilia Perez” and its supporting actress Zoe Saldana have both publicly spoken out about the scandal involving the film’s lead star Karla Sofia Gascon and her past comments on X/Twitter, which include praise of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

In Spanish-language tweets from 2019 that resurfaced last week, Gascon seemingly defended Nazi leader Adolf Hitler for his hatred of Jews. “I don’t understand so much about the world war against Hitler, he simply had his opinion about Jews,” she wrote in one post. She said in another tweet that year: “Hitler believed that his people were divine and belonged to a superior race. They all wiped him out, now the swastika can’t even reproduce itself. The church, Islam, etc. have caused millions more deaths throughout the history of humanity and they are still there. It makes you think.”

In Spanish-language separate tweets, mostly from 2020 and 2021 but also as far back as 2016, Gascón heavily criticized Islam, suggesting that it should be banned and that the religion “violates human rights.” She attacked Muslim attire, language and culture in her native country of Spain. In 2016, she tweeted, “Islam is becoming a hotbed of infection for humanity that urgently needs to be cured.” In separate tweets she called African-Amercian man George Floyd a “drug addict and a hustler” after he was killed by a police officer in 2020 and inspired protests around the US.

“Emilia Perez,” a Spanish-language musical and crime drama about a transgender gangster, received 13 Oscar nominations this year – more than any other film. It includes Saldana’s first Academy Award nomination, for best supporting actress, and a nod for director/co-writer Jacques Audiard. The film set a new record for the most Oscar nominations earned by a non-English film and marks the first time an openly trans actor, Gascón, has been nominated for an Oscar.

Audiard told Deadline on Wednesday that Gascon’s past comments on X are “inexcusable.”

“It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía,” he said. “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. It’s as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable.” Audiard added that he has not spoken to Garcon since the controversy erupted last week, “and I don’t want to.”

“I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions,” he explained. “She’s really playing the victim. She’s talking about herself as a victim, which is surprising. It’s as if she thought that words don’t hurt.”

Garcon apologized for her past social media activity in a statement on Jan. 30 via Netflix, where her “Emilia Perez” is streaming. “As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain,” she said. “All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.” Gascón has since deactivated her X account.

Later, in a lengthy Instagram post, she apologized again but also defended herself, saying in Spanish that her posts were taken out of context. She insisted that she’s “not racist” and that she was not given the option to explain the “real intention” behind her comments on X. “I have always fought for a more just society and for a world of freedom, of peace and of love. I will never support wars, religious extremism or oppression of races and peoples,” she wrote.

In an interview with Variety published on Wednesday, Saldana expressed sadness and disappointment about the situation.

“I’m sad. Time and time again, that’s the word because that is the sentiment that has been living in my chest since everything happened,” she said. “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.”

The post Director of ‘Emilia Pérez’ and Star Zoe Saldana Respond to Karla Sofia Gascon’s Hateful Comments About Hitler, Islam first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

US President Donald Trump looks on as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, Jan. 31, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria

If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results, then the outrage over President Donald Trump’s announcement on his vision for Gaza misses the failures of the “international community” and the Palestinians themselves over the years:

• Pushing Israel to withdraw from land in Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza.
• Watching terrorists build arsenals, attack Israel, and raise generations of people to believe violent death is holy as long as it also kills Jews.
• Pouring in “aid” and money, which the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and Hezbollah steal while the agencies feed the people, perverting the idea of productivity, earning power, and self-determination.
• Watching terrorists fire rockets at Israel and demanding a ceasefire when Israel fires back.
• Being sympathetic when individual Israelis are killed in terror incidents, but blaming the lack of “progress” on Israel’s unwillingness to concede a Palestinian state.

Rinse and repeat.

The response to Trump’s plan also misses the progression in the president’s own pronouncements regarding the future of Gaza. The first came in January 2020 at a meeting in Washington with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to introduce his “Vision for Peace,” which, several months and much negotiation later, became the Abraham Accords.

“The Vision” was 180 pages long and meticulously detailed. The high points are these:

First, the complicity of Arab countries in the miserable situation of Palestinians. “It is time,” Trump’s report said, “for the Muslim world to fix the mistake it made in 1948, when it chose to attack instead of to recognize the new state of Israel. The Palestinians are the primary pawn in this adventurism, and it is time for this sad chapter in history to end.”

By recognizing that the Palestinians were left hanging by their Arab brothers between 1948 and 1967, he made the solution to the Palestinian plight the Arab states’ responsibility, as well. That showed up again this week.

Second, while he was extraordinarily sympathetic to the Palestinian people — particularly young people whom he lamented are “growing up with no hope” — he said that there were things the Palestinian Authority does that are unacceptable to both Israel and the United States. He did not mention Hamas at the time, but the point holds. Those claiming the President is advocating “ethnic cleansing” or something worse aren’t paying attention — and don’t want to.

Third, he offered recognition of “Palestine as the nation-state of the Palestinian people” with a capital in Jerusalem (which would remain undivided and under Israeli sovereignty), “where the US will proudly open an embassy,” plus massive international investment.  In exchange, the President told them to “meet the challenges of peaceful coexistence”:

• Adopt laws ensuring basic human rights and protecting against financial and political corruption.
• Stop malignant activities of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
• End incitement against Israel; and
• Permanently halt financial compensation to terrorists.

Let’s face it, these constitute a very low bar for any decent and humane society.

Giving up those unacceptable things before the US would support the Palestinians’ desire for an independent state is what some people call “preconditions.” Yes — that’s precisely what they are. Said the president, “It is never too late. It is time to rise up and meet the challenges of the future. If they do it, it will work.”

Except they didn’t.

The PA is an active sponsor of terrorism. It also steals from its own people and represses them politically and — for Christian Arabs, religiously. In Gaza, Hamas did that and more.

Rather than suggesting yet another ceasefire and hoping to work that into a “two-state solution,” or giving the PA control in Gaza, or giving terror-sponsor Qatar the right to redevelop the devastated places by hiring its Hamas buddies to do the work and steal the money, Trump looked at it another way.

The US will do it. There are details to be parsed here — and they will be — but the most important point is, actually, the one Palestinians and their international enablers have been making through their tears — that Gaza is their home; they are Gazans. A Gaza journalist, Tariq Dahlan, apparently told BBC reporter Alice Cuddy, “People in Gaza, like all in the world, are deeply connected to the place where they were born, raised, and have been living all their lives …  Every one of us is deeply connected to our homes and we would reject any eviction. We will stay put on this land even though there is death and destruction.”

But if it’s their land and their government — and they are currently situated there — how can they continue to be refugees? The answer is that they are not “refugees.” (Goodbye UNRWA.)

Now, there is a conversation no one wants to have. Except, perhaps, President Trump. In 2020, Palestinians chose not to participate in The Vision, which became the Abraham Accords by the end of that year. In 2025, the deal is different. Less favorable to the Palestinians in the short term, perhaps, but that’s the price of losing the war they started.

The post Trump’s Vision, and Gaza 2.0 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady in the new Super Bowl commercial from FCAS titled “No Reason to Hate.” Photo: Screenshot

The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), founded by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, will air its second ever Super Bowl commercial on Sunday and the 30-second spot this year features rapper Snoop Dogg and former Patriots legend Tom Brady.

The ad is titled “No Reason to Hate” and will air during Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. In the clip, released on Monday, Brady and Snoop Dogg face each other while make spiteful digs and giving examples of the, often stupid, reasons why you might hate someone.

“I hate you because we’re from different neighborhoods,” Snoop Dogg says. “I hate you because you look different,” Brady replies.

“I hate you because I don’t understand you … because you talk different … Because you’re just different,” Snoop Dogg says. Brady responds by saying, “I hate you because people I know hate you … Because I need someone to blame … Because you act different.”

At the end of their face-off, a line appears on screen that says: “The reasons for hate are as stupid as they sound.” Snoop Dogg then concludes by saying, “Man, I hate that things are so bad, we have to do a commercial about it.” Brady replies, “Me, too.” The duo then walk out of frame and the final message on the screen says, “Stand up to all hate.”

Some Jewish activists criticized the commercial on social media for not mentioning antisemitism or Jews at all. Snoop Dogg’s involvement in the ad also received backlash in light of a hateful image he posted on Instagram in 2020 that compared America to the Nazis.

Kraft released a statement about FCAS’ decision to bring Snoop Dogg and Brady together for the commercial.

“Their shared commitment to this cause speaks to the strength of and amplifies the foundation’s continued message: no matter where we come from, there is no place for hate in our world,” Kraft explained. “Together, with their leadership, we’re reminding everyone that the fight against hate is a fight we can all win.”

“The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism is doing incredible work, and I’m honored to stand with them in the fight against hate,” Brady added. “This Super Bowl, football is on my mind, but so is something even bigger – building a world where hate has no place. The ‘No Reason to Hate’ campaign isn’t just a message; it’s a movement. I’m proud to be a part of it, and I hope you’ll join us.”

As part of its “No Reason to Hate” campaign, FCAS, which launched in 2019, will additionally host its first Unity Summit at the Xavier University of New Orleans, Louisiana, on Friday. As part of the foundation’s Unity Dinner series, and in partnership with United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and Hillel International, the event will bring together more than 100 Black and Jewish college students who want to combat hate.

FCAS debuted its first Super Bowl commercial last year and directly addressed hatred targeting the Jewish community. It starred Clarence B. Jones, a prominent civil rights leader who helped draft Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic speech “I Have a Dream.” Last year’s commercial ended with the tagline: “Stand up to Jewish hate.”



The post Robert Kraft’s Super Bowl LIX Commercial to Help Combat Hatred Features Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady first appeared on Algemeiner.com.