Selena Gomez signaled a potential shift away from music to focus on acting, citing her experience working on Emilia Pérez as transformative. Speaking at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Sunday, the actress and singer said her involvement in the Jacques Audiard-directed musical had reshaped her creative ambitions.
"I think film and art-making and being around such incredible, talented people that have done nothing but uplift me along the way... I don't know," Gomez said. "It's going to be very hard for me to ever go back to music after this."
Gomez, 32, stars alongside Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón in Emilia Pérez, a Spanish-language film that has gained significant attention during the awards season. The Netflix-produced musical received 13 Academy Award nominations, the highest of any film this year. Saldaña has already won Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards for her performance.
Despite the film's success, its awards campaign has been overshadowed by controversy surrounding Gascón, who has faced backlash over resurfaced social media posts, including comments critical of Muslim culture and George Floyd. Some reports have also circulated an alleged 2022 tweet in which Gascón referred to Gomez as a "rich rat." Gascón has denied the authenticity of that post, telling CNN en Español last week, "Of course that's not mine. I have never said anything about my partner. I would never refer to her that way."
Gomez acknowledged that the controversy has affected her view of the film. "Some of the magic has disappeared," she said, but added, "I choose to continue to be proud of what I've done, and I'm just grateful. I live with no regrets, and I would do this movie over and over again if I could."
The Emilia Pérez cast, including Gomez, is nominated for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture at the upcoming Screen Actors Guild Awards on February 23. While Gomez has been recognized for her acting in recent years, particularly for her role in Hulu's Only Murders in the Building, her performance in Emilia Pérez has been widely seen as a turning point in her career.
"The director just really trusted me, and I was so grateful because I've gotten to show people that I am capable of doing more," Gomez said. "I hope that this is just the beginning for me."
Gomez has only watched the film in full once, at its Cannes Film Festival premiere in May 2024, where it won the festival's best actress prize. "I watched in Cannes, and then I started to watch it with my family and I got nervous," she said. "My grandparents were seeing me say some stuff, and I was like, 'Okay.'" She added that her grandparents continue to "casually throw [the movie] on in the background."
The controversy surrounding Gascón has cast a shadow over the film's road to the Oscars. Director Jacques Audiard has distanced himself from Gascón, calling her past comments "inexcusable" in a February 5 interview with Deadline. "When you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected," he said. "I haven't spoken to her, and I don't want to."
Saldaña, who is nominated for an Oscar for her performance, expressed disappointment over the situation. "I'm sad. Time and time again, that's the word because that is the sentiment that has been living in my chest since everything happened," she said on Variety's Awards Circuit podcast.
Gascón, the first openly transgender performer to be nominated for an Academy Award, has refused to step down from her nomination. "I cannot step down from an Oscar nomination because I have not committed any crime, nor have I harmed anyone," she said. "I am neither racist nor anything that all these people have tried to make others believe I am."
