Karla Sofia Gascon, who gained critical acclaim for her role in Emilia Perez, will not attend this year’s BAFTA Awards on Monday, February 17 (IST). However, her co-stars Selena Gomez and Zoe Saldana will attend the event.

The actress, who recently made history as the first openly trans actress to earn a BAFTA nomination, has been absent from several award shows following the resurfacing of her past racist social media posts.

She previously skipped the Critics Choice Awards, PGA Awards, and Goya Awards. Her absence from the BAFTAs comes amid continued backlash after the controversy surfaced two weeks ago. 

Among the tweets that resurfaced, Karla criticised the diversity of the 2021 Oscars ceremony. “More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films. I didn’t know if I was watching an Afro-Korean festival, a Black Lives Matter demonstration, or the 8M. Apart from that, an ugly, ugly gala,” she wrote on X.

Additionally, she made derogatory remarks about George Floyd, calling him a “drug addict swindler” after his death at the hands of a police officer in 2020, which sparked protests across the United States.

In the meantime, the British Academy has revealed a list of guest presenters for the event, which includes Adam Scott, Anna Kendrick, Camila Cabello, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Colman Domingo, Isabella Rossellini, James McAvoy, James Norton, Jesse Eisenberg, Letitia Wright, Leo Woodall, Lupita Nyong’o, Marisa Abela, Mark Hamill, Naomi Ackie, Pamela Anderson, Ralph Fiennes, Simon Pegg, Thomasin McKenzie, Vanessa Kirby, Will Poulter, and Will Sharpe.