News

Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Michael Whitaker resigned on Jan. 20, just days before a deadly collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines passenger jet as it prepared to land at Ronald Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday night.

Emilia Pérez star Karla Sofía Gascón might have made Oscar history as the first trans woman to be nominated for Best Actress. But now, she’s making waves for some suspect social media posts from her past.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gascón’s tweets have caught up with her, and X users have been screenshotting Gascón’s posts, possibly before they get deleted. According to the article, Gascón wrote about the 2020 murder of George Floyd, stating (in Spanish), “Let me get this straight, a guy tries to pass off a counterfeit bill after consuming methamphetamine, an idiot policeman arrives and goes too far in arresting him, killing him, ruining the lives of his family and his colleagues, and turning the guy with the bill into a martyr hero.”

“I truly believe that very few people ever cared about George Floyd, a drug addict and a hustler,” she continued, “but his death has served to highlight once again that there are those who still consider Black people to be monkeys without rights and those who consider the police to be murderers. All wrong.”

She also tweeted in 2020 about Spain’s Muslim population, even going as far as to suggest a ban for the country.

“Sorry, is it just my impression or are there more and more Muslims in Spain?” she wrote. “Every time I go to pick up my daughter from school there are more women with their hair covered and their skirts down to their heels. Maybe next year instead of English we’ll have to teach Arabic.”

“Until we ban religions that go against European values and violate human rights, such as Islam, under the protection of freedom of worship, we will not end part of the huge problem we face,” she continued. “Faith manipulates those who cling to faith.”

Other tweets include tirades against:

Oscars Diversity:

Karla Sofía Gascón weighed in on the Oscar ceremony from 2021, the first held following the COVID pandemic in which “Nomadland” won best picture. She wrote:“More and more the #Oscars are looking like a ceremony for independent and protest films, I didn’t know if I was watching… pic.twitter.com/aesUZaNvks— Variety (@Variety) January 30, 2025

Anti-COVID and Anti-Chinese sentiments:

In August 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Karla Sofía Gascón tweeted, “The Chinese vaccine, apart from the mandatory chip, comes with two spring rolls, a cat that moves its hand, 2 plastic flowers, a pop-up lantern, 3 telephone lines and one euro for your first controlled… pic.twitter.com/05Kn6ovwRT— Variety (@Variety) January 30, 2025

A full round-up can be found in the tweet below:

karla sofía gascón tweetsmiley cyrus, BTS, BLM, chinese, korean, black lives matter, trans, racism, muslim, islam, oscars, vaccine, george floyd pic.twitter.com/lgUx7iaWLc— charles (@_fformin) January 31, 2025

After the tweets came out, she issued an apology to Variety, stating “I want to acknowledge the conversation around my past social media posts that have caused hurt. As someone in a marginalized community, I know this suffering all too well and I am deeply sorry to those I have caused pain. All my life I have fought for a better world. I believe light will always triumph over darkness.”

Gascón’s tweets were rediscovered as part of X users’ online retaliation against unsubstantiated rumors Gascon said to a Brazilian newspaper.

In her interview, she opened up about her theory that online groups are trying to smear her and the Emilia Pérez cast and crew, she alluded to a belief that people are trying to “tear down” her film to uplift Fernanda Torres’ Oscar-nominated entry I’m Still Here. Gascon said in part, “I have never, at any point, said anything bad about Fernanda Torres or her movie. However there are people working with Fernanda Torres tearing me and Emilia Pérez down. That speaks more about their movie than mine.”

Gascón and Netflix haven’t responded to The Hollywood Reporter’s request for comment, but the viewing public certainly has given their two cents, with users surprised that Gascón’s team didn’t clean out her X account before the Oscars campaign. Others have also pointed out other problematic tweets she’s made in her past, including more calls for the West to invade Muslim-majority countries (whose citizens she called “infidels) as well as her use of the word “gentuza” when referring to Indigenous Mexicans, which one X user wrote means “lesser people” or “people who have little importance.” X users also tagged the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences about how they feel Gascón’s tweets violate the organization’s rules of disparaging other nominees. The Academy responded saying that Gascón hasn’t broken any rules.

The only statement Gascón has given is with regards to what she said in her newspaper interview about Torres. Gascón told Variety in a statement, “I am an enormous fan of Fernanda Torres and it has been wonderful getting to know her in the past few months. In my recent comments, I was referencing the toxicity and violent hate speech on social media that I sadly continue to experience. Fernanda has been a wonderful ally, and no one directly associated with her has been anything but supportive and hugely generous.”

On Jan. 30, Wayne Shaw was fatally shot while trying to guard his thriving cannabis farm from thieves in East Oakland, according to KTVU. Authorities are still investigating, but it seems that the alleged intruders planned to drive their way […]

According to People, Chelsea Adolphus went to the Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, Illinois, on Jan. 22. Dr. Jennifer Banek, Lake County’s coroner, shared during a media briefing that the patient came in at 4 a.m. to get “medical […]

How many people were on the plane, and who were the victims?There were 60 passengers and four crew members on board the American Eagle passenger plane. According to Donnelly, 27 bodies were pulled from the plane and one from the helicopter during the recovery mission. He had already confirmed there were no survivors from the crash.
“It’s a highly complex operation, the conditions out there are extremely rough for the responders. It’s cold. They’re dealing with relatively windy conditions,” Donnelly said, per CBS News.
According to three emergency care providers in the Washington, D.C, region, no patients have arrived at the hospital after the crash.
“At this time, we have not received any patients,” VHC Health, formerly the Virginia Hospital Center, said in a statement obtained by ABC News early Wednesday morning. “The crash at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport is a sad and shocking tragedy and our thoughts are with all those impacted by this incident. We are working directly with the Arlington and Metropolitan Police Department, Fire, and EMS teams and all authorities,” VHC Health stated, adding, “VHC Health is prepared to assist and support first responders as these agencies continue their emergency response.”
Officials have not confirmed how many fatalities were in the crash.
U.S. Figure Skating confirmed in a statement obtained from ABC News that “several members of our skating community were sadly aboard American Airlines Flight 5342.”
“These athletes, coaches, and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas,” the statement read. “We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts. We will continue to monitor the situation and will release more information as it becomes available.”
Multiple people were waiting at the airport, hopeful to hear about their friends and loved ones who were aboard the flight. One man, Hamaad Raza, told CNN affiliate WUSA that his wife was on the plane.
“I’m just praying that somebody is pulling her out of the river right now as we speak,” Raza told the outlet, according to People. “I’m just praying to God.”
“She texted me that they were landing in 20 minutes,” he said. “The rest of my texts did not get delivered, that’s when I realized something might be up,” Raza said.

Ken Flores, a stand-up comedian who helped promote Latinos in comedy, died on Jan. 28. He was 28-years-old. His cause of death is not yet known, but he appeared to have suffered cardiac arrest and no foul play is suspected, according to TMZ. Flores’ body was discovered at his home around 2 p.m. on Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported.