Selena Gomez Reveals Engagement to Benny Blanco

Selena Gomez attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, September 15, 2024. (Reuters)
Selena Gomez attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, September 15, 2024. (Reuters)
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Selena Gomez Reveals Engagement to Benny Blanco

Selena Gomez attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, September 15, 2024. (Reuters)
Selena Gomez attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, September 15, 2024. (Reuters)

Selena Gomez is having quite a year, and it's being capped with an engagement to music producer and songwriter Benny Blanco.

The Grammy- and Emmy-nominated performer announced she was off the market in an Instagram post Wednesday of her ring and an embrace with her fiancé, with the caption “Forever begins now.”

Celebrity fans sent their congratulations, with rapper Lil Nas X writing “So happy for you both” and Taylor Swift saying “Yes I will be the flower girl.” Well-wishes were also sent by Gwyneth Paltrow, Lily Collins and Padma Lakshmi, Reuters reported.

Gomez became a Golden Globe double nominee Monday for her roles in “Emilia Pérez” and “Only Murders in the Building.”

In 2020, Gomez started the Rare Impact Fund and her Rare Beauty line of cosmetics, pledging to donate 1% of all sales to the fund to help expand mental health services and education for young people.

Blanco and Gomez worked together on the 2019 song “I Can’t Get Enough,” which also featured J Balvin and Tainy. In 2018, Blanco released his first song — “Eastside” — with Khalid and Halsey, and the trio performed it at the 2018 American Music Awards.

Among the songs he’s credited on as a writer and producer include Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream,” Kesha’s “Tik Tok,” “Circus” by Britney Spears and Maroon 5’s “Moves Like Jagger.”



'Mufasa' Film Puts Classic Lions Into More Complex Storylines

This image released by Disney shows characters Afia, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, left, Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, center, and Masego, voiced by Keith David, in a scene from "Mufasa: The Lion King." (Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows characters Afia, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, left, Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, center, and Masego, voiced by Keith David, in a scene from "Mufasa: The Lion King." (Disney via AP)
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'Mufasa' Film Puts Classic Lions Into More Complex Storylines

This image released by Disney shows characters Afia, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, left, Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, center, and Masego, voiced by Keith David, in a scene from "Mufasa: The Lion King." (Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows characters Afia, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, left, Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, center, and Masego, voiced by Keith David, in a scene from "Mufasa: The Lion King." (Disney via AP)

Director Barry Jenkins believes it was important to revisit the Disney classic "The Lion King" with the prequel "Mufasa: The Lion King" for audiences to understand that the protagonist lion Mufasa was never perfect, and the villain Scar was not always evil.
"For 30 years we've been living with this idea of Mufasa as unimpeachably great and good, and Scar is like the full embodiment of evil," Jenkins told Reuters.
"In this story, we get to go back and show that no one is born good or born evil. You'll get a result of all these different choices that you make, good parenting, bad parenting, nature versus nurture," the "Moonlight" director added.
Jenkins found that it was key to the story to introduce a more complex look at the classic characters.
The film, written by Jeff Nathanson, uses photorealistic animation and serves as both a prequel to the original animated 1994 "The Lion King" and a sequel to the 2019 remake, which was directed by Jon Favreau.
"Mufasa", distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, arrives in theaters on Friday.
The movie includes the voices of leads Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, the lion who grows up to be the king and father to Simba along with Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka, who's eventually known as the antagonist named Scar, a prince and Mufasa's adoptive brother.
Taking place in the Pride Lands of Tanzania after the events of the 2019 "Lion King" film, "Mufasa" follows Mufasa and Taka, who become friends and eventually adoptive brothers until a series of devastating events threaten their bond.
The voice cast also includes multi-Grammy winner Beyonce Knowles-Carter who reprises her role from the 2019 film as Simba's mate, Nala, and the "Texas Hold 'Em" singer's daughter, Blue Ivy, making her film debut voicing Simba and Nala's daughter, Princess Kiara.
It was important for Pierre to pay homage to the late James Earl Jones, one of the most renowned actors in Hollywood and the original voice of Mufasa.
"He really for me is just top level," the "Genius" actor said.
For Pierre, Jones was his guiding light that extinguished any fear that he had about the iconic role.
"I actually managed to use that (his fear) in the adolescent version because the adolescent version doesn't have it all figured out," he added.