Selena Gomez shares tears of joy at getting cast in trans musical film

Emilia Pérez, a French musical crime comedy following a trans cartel leader, isn’t out yet, but star Selena Gomez is already celebrating. A day ahead of the film’s premiere, Gomez posted a wholesome reaction video of the moment she learned she’d been cast.

The video shows Gomez having just read her phone. “I can’t believe I got the movie,” she says through near tears of joy. “I’m so gonna cry right now. I don’t want to cry. This is going to be so cool.”

In the rest of the image carousel, Gomez embraces trans star Karla Sofía Gascón and poses for several behind-the-scenes selfies.

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Emilia Pérez stars Zoe Saldaña as Rita Moro Castro, an underappreciated lawyer who teams up with Mexican cartel leader Emilia (Gascón) to assist her in leaving the country with her wife (Gomez) and completing her transition.

Netflix, who acquired distribution rights for the US and UK, described Emilia Pérez as “an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations.”

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“Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia enlists Rita, an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self.”

EMILIA PEREZ Trailer International (2024) Selena Gomez

On May 18, Emilia Pérez had its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, where it was selected to compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or Prize, director Jacques Audiard won the Jury Prize and the three lead actresses won a joint Best Actress Award. Gascón is now the first out trans actress to win the award for that category.

“I never thought I’d experience a moment like this,” Gascón said in her acceptance speech. “Especially for someone like me, who has mostly been kicked about. This award isn’t just for me, it’s for everyone who is fighting to be themselves.

“We’ve had enough of the hatred we’ve had to endure. If just one family could understand, then this prize would mean so much. The message of this film is that there’s always a way to change and improve, no matter how distressing things may be.”

Emilia Pérez premieres in France on August 21 and will head to Netflix for the US and UK on November 13.