Dear Netflix, For The Love Of All Things Gay, Do Not Cast Selena Gomez As Evelyn Hugo

Selena Gomez’s name has been floating around the internet as a possible lead for Netflix’s adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, a project stuck in development limbo since the streamer acquired the rights from Freeform in 2022.

The latest update on the film was a director swap from Leslye Headland to Maggie Betts, but there are still no concrete announcements regarding casting, and therefore it’s my civic duty to register this plea:

Dear Netflix, for the love of all things gay, do not cast Selena Gomez as Evelyn Hugo.

We’re not self-righteous or militantly demanding you cast gay actors in gay roles. In fact, straight actors have delivered some of the steamiest and most beloved gay performances in history. We know you know how much we love Cate Blanchett because our Carol streaming data speaks for itself.

The thing is, that for every movie that’s gotten the depiction of love between two women right (see Imagine Me & You and Portrait Of A Lady On Fire) there’s an Ammonite that got it terribly, terribly wrong, and we desperately need you to do right by this story.

The LGBTQ+ community has always kept our eye out for Selener. We still stan bops like “Love You Like A Love Song”. We take her side in the never-ending internet drama with Hailey Bieber. We were even hopeful her bi-sexual storyline with Cara Delevingne in Only Murders In The Building would be convincing, but alas, there was zero chemistry to be found.

Jenkins Reid has written a masterpiece we’re all dying to see come to life for one reason, and one reason only: the relationship between Evelyn Hugo and Celia St. James. It’s complex. It’s nuanced. It has all of the best elements of our favorite internet conspiracy slash shared psychotic disorder better known as Gaylor. We want to see these two specific characters facing insanely high risks choose love, even if it’s closeted.

We laughed and cried over this book which was so mainstream, we heard about it from our straight friends and family. We want that same queer representation to reach a pop culture frenzy in the form of a film, and while we know Gomez’s involvement would undoubtedly add a level of buzz that could get us there, we’re not convinced she has the je-ne-Cate-Blanchett-quoi to deliver the emotional payload we’re looking for.

Netflix, you have gay gold in your hands, please invest it wisely. I guarantee if you do this right, we will stream this every night until our girlfriends unplug the TV in protest.