After her transformative experience with Emilia Pérez, Selena Gomez admits that returning to music will be a tough decision for her.
At the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in Santa Barbara, California, on Sunday, Feb. 9, Selena Gomez, 32, shared that after her experience working on the critically acclaimed movie musical directed by Jacques Audiard, she is «ready to focus exclusively on» acting in films and television.
«Being immersed in film and art-making, surrounded by incredibly talented individuals who have supported me throughout… I’m not sure,» Gomez reflected.
«It’s hard to imagine returning to music after this.»
This marks Gomez’s first film appearance since voicing a character in Hotel Transylvania 4 in 2022.
She stars in Emilia Pérez, a Spanish-language musical produced in France, alongside Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón.
Despite the film’s recent controversy surrounding Gascón’s old social media posts, Saldaña, 46, has earned accolades for her performance, including wins at the Golden Globe Awards and Critics Choice Awards.
The Netflix film also garnered 13 Academy Award nominations, leading all films in this year’s Oscar race.
Gomez expressed gratitude for the trust the director placed in her, saying, «He believed in me, and I’m so thankful.
It’s been an opportunity to show people that I can do more. I hope this is just the start for me.»
Although Gomez, who released the single «Love On» in 2024, admitted that «some of the magic has faded» due to the controversies surrounding Gascón, she described the experience of making Emilia Pérez as «incredibly cathartic.»
The actress shared that she has only watched the film once, at its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2024, where it won the Best Actress award.
«I watched it at Cannes, then tried to watch it with my family, but I got nervous because my grandparents were seeing me say certain things, and I thought, ‘Okay,'» Gomez shared.
She added that her grandparents still «occasionally play it in the background.»
«It was beautiful. I get a little awkward watching myself sometimes, but I couldn’t be prouder,» she said.
Gomez is nominated alongside the cast of Emilia Pérez for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the SAG Awards, which will air on Netflix Sunday, Feb. 23.
