Selena Gomez on Madonna’s Touching & Sweet Response to ‘Emilia Pérez’ (Exclusive)

Selena Gomez, Zoe Saldaña, and Karla Sofía Gascón sat down with “Extra’s” Terri Seymour to talk “Emilia Pérez.”

“Emilia Pérez” is a musical that tells the story of Juan “Manitas” Del Monte (Gascón), who enlists lawyer Rita (Saldaña) to help them fake their death and transition to Emilia. The decision changes not just the lives of Rita and Emilia but also that of Emilia’s wife, Jessi, played by Selena.

Terri asked how everyone was feeling right now, and Karla shared, “It’s an amazing journey mentally, physically, and all of the things,” adding it would be “hard work to remove this character from my life.”

She later went so far as to describe the film as “the most important movie in the history of cinema,” which made her co-stars laugh.

Selena said of the accolades the film has received, “I’m just enjoying it moment by moment. I feel really lucky to be with these amazing women and I just love every moment, so I’m soaking it all in.”

Zoe added, “We signed up to do a beautiful movie with Jacques Audiard and the unexpected happened where people are receiving it with so much warmth… I think that when you spend so long wanting to be a part of something really special, when it does happen, you get natural energy.”

The ladies recalled sharing Best Actress at Cannes, with Selena saying, “I’ll never forget it. I was so surprised and honored.”

Selena also spoke about not being afraid to take on the project, sharing that she has been wanting a challenging role like this.

“I think I’ve been dreaming of doing a role like this for many reasons. I felt challenged and I felt excited and eager to see all the places that Jacques was going to take me and it was a million times better than I even imagined because I got to meet these women and it just felt like a whole experience that I had never felt before and I hope this is just the beginning.”

Plus, they women reacted to Madonna being moved by the film — the Queen of Pop started crying when she met Karla!

Gomez said, “It was really touching. It was really sweet, but I think the best part was she was very moved when she met us. When she got to hug Karla, she started crying and it was really special.”

Gascón shared, “Madonna is an icon, is an idol for all of us, but at the end she is a human being,” explaining the movie has a touching ending and they are “happy” to make the audience cry.

Saldaña said of experiencing the film, “It would be much more enjoyable, pleasurable to experience through your senses because what you see, what you hear… the emotions are so tangible and it’s deep. It’s deeply moving, so I’ve been loving just the people that are allowing themselves to be taken by this journey.”

The accolades keep coming. The Palm Springs International Film Awards just announced cast and director will receive the Vanguard Award for their work on Jan. 3, 2025.