Selena Gomez is opening up about the controversy surrounding her Emilia Pérez costar Karla Sofía Gascón.
Gomez was asked how she is coping with the drama engulfing the hit Netflix musical during a Q&A at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Sunday, February 9.
“Thank you. I’m really good,” Gomez, 32, responded, per footage shared via X by The Hollywood Reporter. “Some of the magic has disappeared, but I choose to continue to be proud of what I’ve done. I’m just grateful and live with no regrets.”
Continuing to show her support for Emilia Pérez, which is nominated for 13 Oscars at this year’s Academy Awards, Gomez added, “I’d do this movie over and over again if I could.”
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Gascón, 52, has faced backlash after controversial tweets shared by the actress resurfaced recently, overshadowing the movie’s Oscar campaign. The Spanish actress has been criticized for remarks made about the Muslim community, the death of George Floyd and even an apparent dig at Gomez.
While the Best Actress Oscar nominee initially apologized for the posts in a statement through Netflix, the film’s distributor, she later claimed that some of the remarks attributed to her were taken out of context or fabricated.
Amid the scandal, Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard told Deadline last week that Gascón was taking a “self-destructive approach” and questioned, “Why is she harming herself?”
“Why? I don’t understand it, and what I don’t understand about this too is why she’s harming people who were very close to her,” he added, referring to Gascón’s costars Zoe Saldaña, who is also nominated for an Oscar, and Gomez. “I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe and Selena. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us.”
On Thursday, February 6, Gascón shared a fresh apology via Instagram.
“Following Jacques’ interview that I understand, I decided, for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself, hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference,” she shared.
“I sincerely apologize to everyone who has been hurt along the way,” she added alongside a photo of the Emilia Pérez cast and crew at the film’s Cannes premiere last year.
For her part, Saldaña, who is up for Best Supporting Actress at the Oscars, told Variety last week that the controversy made her feel “sad.”
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“Time and time again, that’s the word because that is the sentiment that has been living in my chest since everything happened,” the Oscar nominee said.
“I’m also disappointed. I can’t speak for other people’s actions. All I can attest to is my experience, and never in a million years did I ever believe that we would be here,” she added.
