Selena Gomez has arrived at the 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards ahead of her nomination for musical-thriller Emilia Pérez. The 32-year-old arrived without her new fiancé, music producer Benny Blanco, stunning solo on the red carpet in a sequin gown dripping with crystals as well as jewellery from Tiffany & Co.
Gomez is up for best supporting actress against co-star Zoe Saldana, having previously won Best Actress at Cannes Film Festival. The Spanish language film follows a Mexican cartel leader who enlists a lawyer to help him disappear and under gender reassignment surgery. Gomez plays Jessi Del Monte, the cartel leaders US-raised wife and mother of their children.
Despite her award-winning performance, clips of Gomez in the role went viral after some critiqued her Spanish. In fact, ‘Does Selena Gomez speak Spanish?’ became a breakout search term on Google shortly after – and still is now – as viewers sought to understand whether the broken language performance was intentional or not. For your information, it was. While Gomez admittedly is not fluent in the language (but can speak it), it was also part of her character to have slightly broken Spanish given her US-upbringing.
Much of the commentary around Gomez online is similarly controversial. Today alone, searches for ‘Selena Gomez disease’ and ‘Selena Gomez weight’ are breakout queries on Google Trends. In fact, anytime she walks a red carpet or appears in public there tends to be an outpouring of curiosity around her physical appearance. While it is undoubtedly invasive, Gomez has taken the public interest in her stride – openly talking about her long-term battle with lupus in order to raise awareness of the condition.
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the body to attack healthy tissue and organs, with symptoms ranging from fatigue and headaches to hair loss and shortness of breath. Treatments for lupus can also cause weight fluctuations, which Gomez has discussed publicly after conversations about her appearance started to snowball online last year.
‘[When I’m taking the medication], I tend to hold a lot of water weight and that happens very normally,’ Gomez said on Instagram. ‘When I’m off it, I tend to lose weight. I just wanted to say and encourage anyone out there who feels any sort of shame for exactly what they’re going through. No one knows the real story… I’m not a model. Never will be. And I think they’re awesome, mind you. I’m just definitely not that. I just wanted to tell you I love you guys and thanks for supporting me and understanding. And if not … go away. Because, honestly, I don’t believe in shaming people for [their bodies] or anything.’
Arriving at the BAFTA red carpet, Gomez was notably without her new fiancé Blanco, whom she recently celebrated Valentines Day with in Los Angeles. The couple got engaged before Christmas, posting on Instagram ‘forever begins now’ with a picture of her large diamond ring. Gomez and Blanco publicly revealed their relationship in December 2023 and have seemingly been loved up ever since. Will we see the couple at an afterparty? Perhaps if she wins tonight…