Selena Gomez‘s mother Mandy Teefey has addressed her daughter’s controversial decision to appear in Woody Allen’s upcoming film A Rainy Day in New York despite the claims of sexual abuse that have plagued the legendary director.
Two of Gomez’s costars, Timothée Chalamet and Rebecca Hall, have pledged to donate their salaries for the film to charitable organizations in the wake of ongoing allegations that Allen molested his 7-year-old daughter, Dylan Farrow, in 1992. Gomez, 25, has yet to make a similar public stand, leading to some criticism from fans, one of whom posted a comment on Teefey’s Instagram suggesting she “make” her daughter apologize for professionally supporting Allen.
Teefey, 41, wrote a response to the comment, saying, “Sorry, no one can make Selena do anything she doesn’t want to.”
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She also admitted that she tried to dissuade Gomez from appearing in Allen’s projects. “I had a long talk with her about not working with him and it didn’t click. Her team are amazing people. There is no fall person here. No one controls her. She makes all her own decisions. No matter how hard you try to advise. It falls on deaf ears,” Teefey continued.
In December, Gomez and her mother made headlines for unfollowing each other on Instagram, but a source close to the family told PEOPLE at the time that their recent estrangement wasn’t solely because of the singer’s reunion with on-again, off-again boyfriend Justin Bieber.
“It’s more complicated than just fighting over a guy,” said the source. “Mandy and Selena have had their ups and down before. This isn’t the first time.”
Teefey has since begun following her daughter on the social media platform again.
RELATED VIDEO: Timothée Chalamet Donates Woody Allen Movie Salary To Time’s Up, RAINN
Though Gomez and Teefey aren’t on speaking terms, the singer “also wants to give her mom some space,” added the source close to the family. “When they fight, they fight hard. But when they love, they also love hard.”
The opportunity to act in one of Allen’s films apparently meant a great deal to Gomez. Speaking to Billboard in November, she revealed that she won the role through dogged persistence.
“I auditioned for it five times,” she explained. “I didn’t have the greatest confidence a few times and they passed on me, but it turned out that they didn’t find anyone, so I auditioned one more time and gave it my all. I do feel like I earned it.”
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In a lengthy noted shared to his Instagram late Monday night, Chalamet explained his decisions to donate his salary from the film.
“I have been asked in a few recent interviews about my decision to work on a film with Woody Allen last summer,” he wrote. “I’m not able to answer the question directly because of contractual obligations.”
He added, “But what I can say is this: I don’t want to profit from my work on the film, and to that end, I am going to donate my entire salary to three charities: TIME’S UP, The LGBT Center in New York, and RAINN. I want to be worthy of standing shoulder to shoulder with the brave artists who are fighting for all people to be treated with the respect and dignity they deserve.”
Hall, who rose to fame after her starring role in Allen’s 2008 film Vicky Cristina Barcelona, shared a similar message on the social media platform last Friday, in which she stated her intention to donate her salary to the Time’s Up movement.
“When asked to do so, some seven months ago, I quickly said yes. He gave me one of my first significant roles in film for which I have always been grateful, it was one day in my hometown – easy,” she explained.
Since accepting the role, Hall wrote that she realized “there is nothing easy about any of this.” After thinking about it “very deeply,” she said she remains “conflicted and sad.”
After reading Farrow’s statements about Allen, Hall said she came to understand “that my actions have made another woman feel silenced and dismissed.”
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