Oscar-nominated actress Zoe Saldana has called for people to be “abstract with your idea of redemption” as she won Best Supporting Actress at the 2025 London Critics’ Circle Awards.
Her choice of words comes as her Emilia Perez co-star Karla Sofia Gascon apologised for her old social media posts that took aim at Islam and George Floyd.
Speaking at the awards ceremony in Mayfair, London, Saldana said she wasn’t expecting to be honoured, “especially now”.
“It is very challenging to believe in something with so much conviction that you are willing to go against the grain and sometimes the grain can betray you because the grain can tell you that it is the right path,” she said.
She continued: “You believe in your heart, and you do it. And I feel like that is the path of an artist… to believe in what you’re feeling.
“If it’s coming from a place of love and purity and knowledge and education and research and hard work. Emilia was done with so much of all of those things.”
Thanking her castmates, she said they had made something “really beautiful” but then went on to ask the crowd to “be abstract with your idea of redemption”.
Cineworld to shut six more cinemas – full list of closures
Blockbuster Wicked lands largest opening weekend of 2024 at Vue
Landlord talks leave closure threat facing 18 Cineworld sites
She added: “Keep your minds and your hearts open always. And keep making art and telling your truth. Please.”
Read more from Sky News:
Sterling K Brown speaks to Sky News
Digga D jailed for supplying cannabis
Grammys: Everything to know
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Emilia Perez controversy
Saldana’s plea for people to be forgiving came after her co-star Gascon recently took part in an hour-long interview with CNN, insisting she “is not a racist” and that she would not be renouncing her Oscar nomination “because [she has] not committed any crime nor [has she] harmed anyone”.
The Spanish actress claimed many of her social media posts on X were taken out of context and suggested the alleged screenshot of her calling Selena Gomez “a rich rat” was false.
“I have never said anything about my partner. I would never refer to her that way,” she claimed.
The actress, who since deactivated her account on X, is the first transgender performer to be nominated for an Oscar for best actress.
In her apology for her comments, she said: “As someone in a marginalised 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.”
Follow our channel and never miss an update
London Critics’ Circle winners
The Brutalist was crowned Film of the Year at the 25th London Critics’ Circle Awards – the only award received by the Brady Corbet feature.
Fifteen projects were honoured at the May Fair Hotel – with Conclave, Nickel Boys and A Real Pain winning two awards each.
