Emilia Pérez wins top Spanish film prize amid Karla Sofía Gascón furore

Best European film at Goya awards goes to musical at centre of storm over past social media posts written by its star

The multi-Oscar-nominated narco-musical Emilia Perez, whose success has been overshadowed by the emergence of a series of racist and Islamophobic social media posts written by its star, Karla Sofia Gascon, won best European film at Spain's prestigious Goya awards on Saturday night.

Gascon, the first out transgender woman to be nominated for a best actress Oscar, stayed away from the ceremony after posts came to light in which she called George Floyd a drug addict swindler", denigrated China, and said Islam was becoming a hotbed of infection for humanity".