Ted Sarandos talks Emilia Pérez on Oscars red carpet
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos talks about what the Oscars means for the streaming platform.
Entertain This!
Karla Sofía Gascón still has a home at Netflix.
In an interview with Variety published Wednesday, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said he would work with the “Emilia Pérez” star again despite the controversy over her offensive social media posts.
“You have to have some grace when people make mistakes, and we have grace,” he said.
When asked if Netflix will vet its talent’s social media differently in the wake of the scandal, Sarandos said the company is mainly concerned with whether a person’s controversial posts received significant news coverage in the past. This was not the case with Gascón’s posts, which only resurfaced after the Oscar nominations had already been announced.
“What we’re typically vetting for is mostly headlines,” Sarandos told Variety. “Did someone’s social media stuff create headlines before? Then again, I’m not on Twitter, so I’m not going to come in and look at someone else’s Twitter.”
In January, Gascón apologized over old X posts expressing controversial and racist views on Muslims, George Floyd and diversity at the Academy Awards, among other topics.
“I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt,” she said in a January statement obtained by USA TODAY. “As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain.”
Gascón played the title role in the Netflix musical “Emilia Pérez,” and days before her posts resurfaced, the film led the Oscar nominations with an impressive 13 nods. She became the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for an Oscar.
Though some pundits initially considered “Emilia Pérez” a best picture frontrunner, the movie went on to lose the top Oscar to “Anora.” But the film still walked away with two Academy Awards: best supporting actress for Zoe Saldaña and best original song for “El Mal.”
When Variety asked Sarandos if he believes “Emilia Pérez” could have won best picture if not for the Gascón controversy, the executive pushed back.
“I hate that question, because it creates all of these what-if’s,” he said. “It was the frontrunner, but it was never a slam dunk that ‘Emilia Pérez’ — with all its innovation and thrills — would win best picture. It was a great movie, a great campaign, and I’m bummed we had all that what-if’s thrown at us.”
Prior to the Oscars, Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said on “The Town” podcast in February that it was “such a bummer” that the Gascón controversy distracted from the rest of “Emilia Pérez.” She also said that it’s “not really common practice for people (or companies) to vet social tweets” in the entertainment industry, although “a lot of people are reevaluating that” now.
“If you ask me today, everything I know, we would still buy the movie today,” Bajaria added.
After stepping back from the Oscar campaign trail amid the controversy over her posts, Gascón still attended the Academy Awards on March 2, where host Conan O’Brien made light of the situation.
“‘Anora’ uses the F-word 479 times. That’s three more than the record set by Karla Sofía Gascón’s publicist,” the comedian joked, drawing groans.
Netflix boss defends ‘underestimated’ Duchess Meghan
Elsewhere in the interview, Sarandos defended Duchess Meghan when asked why she was the “right person to bet on.” Her lifestyle show “With Love, Meghan” debuted on the streamer earlier this month to mostly negative reviews.
The Duchess of Sussex and her husband Prince Harry signed a multiyear deal with Netflix in 2020, which also led to the 2022 documentary series “Harry & Meghan.”
“I think Meghan is underestimated in terms of her influence on culture,” Sarandos said. “When we dropped the trailer for the ‘Harry & Meghan’ doc series (in 2022), everything on-screen was dissected in the press for days. The shoes she was wearing sold out all over the world. The Hermès blanket that was on the chair behind her sold out everywhere in the world. People are fascinated with Meghan Markle. She and Harry are overly dismissed.”
“With Love, Meghan” is set to return for a second season, which has already wrapped filming.
During an event in January unveiling Netflix’s 2025 slate, comedian John Mulaney mocked the streamer for its deal with Harry and Meghan while detailing his talk show “Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney.” The comic joked, “This is a really fun experiment. Not since Harry and Meghan has Netflix given more money to someone without a specific plan.”
Contributing: Pamela Avila, Jay Stahl
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