Karla Sofía Gascón, the history-making Oscar nominee at the center of an award season scandal for her past offensive tweets, plans to attend Sunday’s Academy Awards ceremony.
A source tells PEOPLE on Monday, Feb. 24, that the Emilia Pérez star, 52, is expected to attend the event on March 2, after skipping several major award shows since facing backlash.
Variety also reported that Gascón is expected to be at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles on Sunday but said it’s currently unclear if she will walk the red carpet or sit with her costars, who include Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez.
Reps for Gascón and Netflix, the film’s distributor, did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Gascón told The Hollywood Reporter Feb. 24, “I’m not sure how I feel, but I’m grateful to be back. I’m grateful to all those who’ve believed in me — to Netflix, the production company and my colleagues. We can close this beautiful and difficult path that began three years ago.”
When this year’s Oscar nominations were revealed Jan. 23, Emilia Pérez was the most-nominated film, and Gascón, who plays the titular role, became the first openly transgender star to be nominated for Best Actress.
Later that same month, the Spanish actress faced controversy when her past tweets — featuring offensive comments about Muslim culture, George Floyd, diversity at the Oscars and more — were resurfaced on social media. She later deleted her X account.
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Her costar Saldaña, a frontrunner for the Best Supporting Actress category, spoke out after the headline-making backlash, saying it “makes me really sad because I don’t support and I don’t have any tolerance for any negative rhetoric towards people of any group.”
French director Jacques Audiard, also nominated for Emilia Pérez, then told Deadline Feb. 5 that Gascón’s tweets were “absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated,” calling them “inexcusable.”
Prior to Audiard’s remarks, Gascón said in a tearful interview with CNN that she “cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime nor have I harmed anyone,” and added, “I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am.”
But Gascón spoke out after Audiard addressed the controversy, promising “silence” for the rest of award season in order to “allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference.” She added in that Feb. 6 Instagram post, “I sincerely apologize to everyone who has been hurt along the way.”
Gascón attended the Golden Globes on Jan. 5, prior to the controversy, but she has skipped award shows like the Critics Choice Awards, the EE BAFTA Film Awards, the SAG Awards and more.
The 97th Academy Awards, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will air live on March 2 at 7 p.m. ET on ABC and Hulu.
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