Selena Gomez became emotional after Emilia Pérez received a reported nine-minute standing ovation at its Cannes premiere on May 18, 2024. The film, directed by Jacques Audiard, was in the festival’s Official Competition. Gomez later said she was relieved that attention had shifted to her performance instead of her personal life.
What happened at Cannes?
Emilia Pérez premiered on May 18, 2024, as part of the 77th Festival de Cannes Official Competition. Gomez was among the film’s cast, alongside Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña and Adriana Paz. The Festival de Cannes event page identifies the film and its team at the premiere.
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Reuters reported that the screening ended with a nine-minute standing ovation. That figure describes the reported audience response at the premiere; it is not an official critical rating or a measure of how all viewers received the film.
Why did Selena Gomez say she felt relieved?
In comments reported by Reuters on May 20, Gomez said she was glad the conversation had turned to her work. “It’s a relief. I’d rather somebody say I did a terrible job than talk about my personal life. So, I feel very proud,” she said at Cannes after the premiere. Reuters’ report, republished by ThePrint, describes her as emotional during the moment; it does not establish a more specific private reason for her tears.
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Was the ovation an award?
No. The ovation was the audience’s response after the screening, while the award was a separate decision announced later by the festival. The Festival de Cannes’ 2024 winners’ list records the actresses of Emilia Pérez—Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz—as recipients of the festival’s Best Actress award.
The Cannes moment was also covered by the Associated Press, which described the film as a musical, and by E! News in its report on the ovation.
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