Karla Sofía Gascón, star of the Netflix show Emilia Pérez, had her bid for an Oscars nomination disrupted recently when some of her old social media posts from 2016-2022 went viral. In various statements, Gascón criticized major world religions, including Islam, Christianity and Catholicism, called George Floyd a “drug addict swindler,” and even called the Oscar’s award ceremony itself “an ugly, ugly gala.” Gascón has since apologized “to those I have caused pain,” but said she was deleting her X account amid her concerns that she had become a target of “hate and misinformation” after the posts went viral.

Watch the above video as Straight Arrow News contributor Adrienne Lawrence dives into the Gascón controversy and asks why no one in Hollywood – or at Netflix – seems to be doing basic social media background checks on star actors and actresses.

The following is an excerpt from the above video:

So really, what is the takeaway here, other than a social media audit and not being a terrible person? Accountability. That’s right, demonstrating growth. If there’s no real remorse, no action and no meaningful reflection, people can see right through it. That kind of brings us to the big question: Is there ever a path to redemption?

Yeah, [sic] it all matters on one word, that is effort. You know, we the people can forgive, but only when it’s clear that someone understands what they did and why it was harmful, and also shows that they’ve been actively, actively working to make amends. And that means not just treating an apology like a PR check box, but actually changing behavior, listening to impacted communities, and putting in the work. And importantly, some things just don’t deserve a second act.

Gascón wasn’t caught making a dumb joke at 16. She was making harmful targeted attacks well into adulthood. There is a difference between youthful ignorance and entrenched prejudice. At the end of the day, this saga isn’t just about one person. It’s a lesson in how industries, brands and individuals handle or fail to handle public accountability.

The Gascón debacle was avoidable, predictable and entirely self-inflicted. So if Hollywood wants to avoid another PR nightmare, maybe it’s time to hire that intern. And for everyone else, maybe it’s kind of time to think about things, you know, before you post them.