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Zoe Saldaña took home the Bafta for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the controversial Netflix musical, Emilia Pérez.
Directed by Jacques Audiard, the musical crime caper follows a Mexican cartel leader (played by Gascón) who enlists the help of an attorney (Zoe Saldaña) to undergo gender affirmation surgery. After living as her true self for some time, the character seeks out a reunion with her grieving wife (Selena Gomez), who assumed her spouse had died, and their children.
Though the film has faced criticism from some Mexican critics as well as members of the transgender community early on, the film picked up another award alongside Zoe’s at the Baftas, Best Film Not In The English Language.
However, at tonight’s Bafta award ceremony, Zoe had her acceptance speech cut short and censored.
“I was told not to cry by my children, so I’ll try. This is so validating and a true honour, because the very few times that I went for a part with a British accent or dialect coach, I was like, ‘This is not going to happen to you.’ Even though I have a lot of British friends, I find myself repeating all their phrases, and I know that I’m a pain in the a***,” she shared.
“Bafta thank you, this was a creative challenge of a lifetime. How do you begin to even approach a film that not just defies categorisation, and you start by taking the leap with Jacques Audiard. I want to thank my wonderful cast… Films are supposed to change hearts and challenge minds and i hope i did something like this. voices need to be heard, just not my English accent.”
Zoe then dedicated her award to to her nephew, Eli: “He is the reason – they are the reason – I signed up to do this film in the first place.
“So as the proud aunt of a trans life, I will always stand with my community of trans people.”
However, as she continued, a countdown from Bafta pushed her to hurry up, prompting her to swear, “Oh my god I’m getting a countdown. F*** f*** f***! ”
Emilia Perez had been nominated for 11 awards at tonight’s Baftas.
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