Bill Maher blames the ‘cancel culture’ for Emilia Perez’s Oscar loss

Bill Maher took aim at “cancel culture” during a discussion with David Sedaris on Friday’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher. The HBO host and comedian argued that cancel culture has significantly evolved, claiming it played a key role in the downfall of Jacques Audiard’s musical Emilia Perez. According to Maher, the film lost both Best Picture and Best Actress at the Oscars as a result of the cultural shift.

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Bill Maher says Emilia Perez lost the Oscar because of ‘cancel culture’

Maher shared, “There are people who say cancel culture isn’t a real thing, and I would say to them, ‘It just happened at the Oscars.’” He argued that Hollywood was looking forward for a trans actress to win Best Actress, making Karla Sofia Gascon a frontrunner. However, he believed that the controversy over her resurfaced offensive and racist tweets derailed her chances and hurt the film’s momentum.

Maher labelled Gascon’s controversial tweets as “a little Kanye-esque,” adding that she crossed the line by breaking one particular taboo. He humorously added, “Just don’t mention Hitler. I feel like it never comes out good.” He also stated that the tweets were honest but too far for the “woke community,” as reported by The Daily Beast.

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Anora benefit from Gascon’s controversial tweets?

Despite receiving immense backlash over her past tweets, Gascon went ahead to attend the Oscars after issuing a public apology for her previous remarks on social media. According to the logic provided by Maher, the shift in focus away from Emilia Perez after the tweet controversy benefitted Anora. This led to the film’s win at the Oscars as the film bagged Best Picture and Sean Baker won Best Director. Mikey Madison also won Best Actress for her part in the film.

However, Emilia Perez did not go unrecognised as Zoe Saldana received Best Supporting Actress for her role and El Mal received the golden statue for Best Original Song.