Bill Maher Says ‘Emilia Pérez’ Lost to ‘Anora’ at the Oscars Because of ‘Cancel Culture’: ‘It Was the Front Runner’

Bill Maher has his own take about what went down on Oscar Sunday.

During his conversation with author and humorist David Sedaris on “Real Time”, Maher expressed that the influence of ‘cancellations’ played a significant role in determining this year’s Academy Award recipients, particularly concerning the film “Emilia Pérez” and its lead actress Karla Sofía Gascón.

Some folks argue that cancel culture doesn’t exist, but in response, I’d point out, ‘It clearly transpired during the Oscars,'” Maher stated. “You might not see it, but the film that was expected to sweep all awards was titled ‘Emilia Pérez.’

Maher noted that Hollywood found it appealing to shatter a significant cultural divide and for an individual identified as transgender to secure the Oscar for Best Actress. He then commended Gascón’s acting skills by expressing, “Indeed, she performed marvelously.

Initially, I admired Gascón and Emilia Pérez, but their standing in the Academy took a dramatic turn for the worse when some of Gascón’s tweets from 2020 to 2021 resurfaced. These tweets, filled with contentious opinions about George Floyd, Muslims, and diversity at the Oscars, cast them as pariahs within our community. I was genuinely disheartened by these revelations.

Maher commented that Gascón’s tweets appeared somewhat immature, similar to the spontaneous and often contentious nature of Kanye West’s social media activity, due to West’s history of posting controversial content online.

Maher stated that the movie which seemed destined to win everything, being the clear favorite, unexpectedly flopped, he said it was ‘out to lunch’. This turn of events benefited the film ‘Anora’. Therefore, cancel culture is still present in our society, but it might be showing up in more subtle ways.

As a cinephile, if I were to predict the future of the 2025 Academy Awards, I’d boldly claim that Sean Baker’s masterpiece “Anora” would stand out as the dominant film. This extraordinary production swept the awards, bagging no less than five statuettes, among them Best Picture, Director, and Actress for its lead star. Even our talented Emilia Pérez wasn’t left empty-handed, taking home the prizes for Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Song.

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2025-03-08 21:48