On Sunday, February 9, Selena Gomez was one of the recipients of the Virtuosos Award at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The award is meant to honor talent whose performance in “film has elevated the national cinematic dialogue.” Selena received the award for her work on the film Emilia Pérez, which has both been praised and panned nationally and internationally.
More from MamásLatinas: Everything you need to know about the movie Emilia Perez
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Emilia Pérez with one of the most recent issues being resurfaced Islamophobic social media posts made by the film’s star Karla Sofía Gascón. Karla’s performance in the film led to her making history for being the first trans woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for acting, but that accomplishment is being overshadowed by her history of reprehensible online commentary.
it’s so insane that karla sofía gascón still has these tweets up. straight up have never seen tweets this racist from someone actively campaigning to win an ACADEMY AWARD. there are more than a dozen… pic.twitter.com/1rcNzkJXuo
— sarah hagi (@KindaHagi) January 30, 2025
Aside from Karla’s resurfaced posts, Selena has also been subjected to vocal criticism of her performance in the film as many believe that her poor command of Spanish tarnished her performance and ruined the film. And yet, she’s received accolades and awards for that same performance. The experience has been a roller coaster filled with ups and downs for Selena.
@elviboreo Eugenio Derbez habla de la actuación de Selena Gómez en la película “Emilia Pérez” #eugenioderbez #selenagomez #emiliaperez #peliculas #cine #hablandodecinecon #fyp #paratiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii #parati #parat #viral #selena #tendencia #farandula #cinefilos #entretenimiento #podcasts #entrevista #hollywood #movies ♬ Mysterious and sad BGM(1120058) – S and N
While taking the stage on Sunday, for an interview as one of the recipients of the Virtuosos Awards, Selena broke her silence regarding all the controversy surrounding the film. Check out what she had to say.
Moderator Dave Karger asked her how she’s doing after what she’s been through regarding the film.
“I’m good, I’m really good. Some of the magic has disappeared. But 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.”
When asked what the best part of the experience has been for her, she responded:
“Just having someone see something in me besides the obvious was such a special experience. The director [Jacques Audiard] just really trusted me, and I was so grateful because I’ve gotten to show people that I am capable of doing more. I hope this is just the beginning for me in this field.”
What’s next for Selena?
When asked what was next for her artistically, Selena made it clear that she’s looking forward to doing more acting and said: “I don’t know, it’s going to be hard for me to ever go back to music after this.”
Here’s the full video of her Virtuosos Award appearance.
