Selena Gomez Says Movie Will Be Mandatory Viewing for Her Kids

With her wedding to Benny Blanco on the horizon, Selena Gomez stopped by Amy Poehler’s podcast this week and talked about the kinds of things she hopes to share with the children she plans to have someday — starting with what films they’ll watch.

On the Sept. 9 episode of Good Hang With Amy Poehler, Gomez praised Poehler’s work voicing Joy in Disney·Pixar’s Inside Out and its sequel. She said Inside Out 2, which introduces Anxiety as an on-screen presence, moved her deeply and left her in tears.

Gomez added that the sequel felt so truthful she believes it should be required viewing for young people — even suggesting it could serve as a classroom assignment. She said she and her sister Gracie, who is 12, watched the movie together and were both overwhelmed by it.

Poehler observed that the film captures the sudden, wrenching feeling that comes when Anxiety takes hold — a moment everyone experiences differently at various stages of life. Gomez agreed and said, plainly, “I’m gonna make my children watch it,” before clarifying she’s not a parent yet.

The conversation returned repeatedly to Gomez’s future family plans. A multi-hyphenate — singer, actor on Only Murders in the Building and founder of Rare Beauty — she admitted she often finds it difficult to say no when fans or cameras demand attention. She hopes that becoming a parent will help her establish firmer boundaries.

“I feel like I owe a lot of people a smile, a hug, a picture,” Gomez explained, noting that when she declines it’s usually because she’s managing anxiety or running late. Poehler sympathized, saying women in their 30s often begin to guard their energy more deliberately — a point Gomez agreed with and said will become more pronounced once she has children.

Poehler also chatted with Martin Short before Gomez’s segment; Short described the intense paparazzi presence whenever Gomez films in New York — sometimes upward of 120 photographers — and praised the way she handles that spotlight. He recalled an instance when Gomez intervened protectively on behalf of a teenage fan and called out intrusive behavior.

Gomez shared a candid on-set anecdote from season two of Only Murders in the Building: she flipped off a photographer after overhearing a hateful remark. The moment was briefly captured, and when Poehler joked, “One finger in 33 years?” Gomez laughed and admitted there have likely been a few more such moments — to which Poehler quipped they could probably find them all on camera.

Source