‘Justice continues to stand’: Family reacts after Selena’s killer is denied parole
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Yolanda Saldivar, the woman who murdered singer Selena Quintanilla in 1995, has been denied parole by the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole.
Saldivar was convinced and sentenced to life in prison in 1995. She was required to serve 30 years before becoming eligible for parole. Her official eligibility date was March 30, but the Board’s decision was announced Thursday. The next review is set for 2030.
In its decision, the Board stated that the nature of Saldivar’s offense indicated “a conscious disregard for the lives, safety, or property of others.” The Board therefore ruled that Saldivar “poses a continuing threat to public safety.”
Days before the murder, Saldivar, the former president of Selena’s fan club, had been fired by the singer and her husband over allegations that she was stealing money from them. Known as the Queen of Tejano Music, Selena was 23 years old when she was killed. Her posthumous crossover album, Dreaming of You, was the first album by a Latin artist to debut at #1 on the Billboard 200.
Selena’s life inspired the 1997 movie Selena, starring Jennifer Lopez, as well as a 2020 Netflix series. Selena Gomez was named after her.
In a statement on the singer’s official Instagram, Selena’s family said they were grateful for the Board’s decision, saying that it “reaffirms that justice continues to stand for the beautiful life that was taken from us and from millions of fans around the world far too soon.”
“Selena’s legacy is one of love, music, and inspiration,” the statement continued. “She lived with joy, gave selflessly, and continues to uplift generations with her voice and her spirit. … [W]e remain committed to preserving her memory and ensuring that her story is honored with the dignity and respect it deserves.”
The message also thanked Selena’s fans “their unwavering support throughout the years.”
Ariana Grande and Demi Moore are among the many stars reacting to their 2025 Oscar nominations.
Nominations for the 97th Academy Awards were announced Thursday, with Emilia Pérez scoring 13 nods, the most nominations of any film.
The Brutalist and Wicked followed closely behind with 10 nods apiece, while A Complete Unknown and Conclave earned eight nods each.
Following the nominations announcement, Grande, who is nominated for best supporting actress for Wicked, took to social media to thank the Academy “for this unfathomable recognition.”
Moore, who is nominated for best actress for The Substance, also shared a statement and said that being nominated for an Oscar is “beyond my wildest dreams.”
Several nominees, including Mikey Madison, Coralie Fargeat and Diane Warren, spoke to Good Morning America about earning recognition from the Academy and what this moment means to them.
Madison, who is nominated for best actress, said she is “grateful” and “so happy for my entire film.”
Check out reactions from Oscar-nominated stars below.
Ariana Grande
Grande shared an emotional Instagram post reacting to her best supporting actress nomination, writing, “picking my head up in between sobs to say thank you so much to @theacademy for this unfathomable recognition. i cannot stop crying, to no one’s surprise.”
Grande continued, “i’m humbled and deeply honored to be in such brilliant company and sharing this with tiny ari who sat and studied Judy Garland singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow just before the big, beautiful bubble entered. i’m so proud of you, tiny. thank you again, from the bottom of my heart, for this acknowledgement @theacademy.”
She also thanked Wicked director Jon M. Chu “for taking this chance on me and for being the most unbelievably brilliant leader, human being, and most fierce friend.”
Grande ended her message by mentioning her Wicked co-star, Cynthia Erivo, who is nominated for best actress, and said, “i am so proud of my Elphie, my sister, my dear @cynthiaerivo. your brilliance is never ending and you deserve every flower (tulip) in every garden. i love you unconditionally, always.”
“i don’t quite have all my words yet, i’m still trying to breathe. but thank you,” she added.
Demi Moore
Moore shared a statement with ABC News about her Oscar nomination: “Being nominated for an Oscar is an incredible honor and these last few months have been beyond my wildest dreams. Truly there are no words to fully express my joy and overwhelming gratitude for this recognition. Not only for me but for what this film represents.”
Her statement continued, “I am deeply humbled. This is a time of incredible contrasts and right now, my heart is with my friends, family, neighbors, and community here in LA. The fires have devastated so many lives but to see the way our community has united leaves me in awe of the resilience and compassion that defines us, and this moment is a reminder of how incredible we are when we stand together.”
Mikey Madison
The Anora star told GMA, “It’s incredibly exciting and very, very surreal. I’m so grateful, humbled — I’m so happy for my entire film. I’m so happy for Sean Baker, Sammy Quan, Alex Coco, Yura Borisov. It’s all so exciting. I’m just absolutely floating right now.”
Madison said she was watching GMA and FaceTiming her mom when she found out about her nomination. She said her mom was “crying and it was very sweet” but said “she immediately humbled me by saying in the same sentence, ‘Oh, congratulations sweetie, I love you so much. Also, you need to take your dogs to obedience training.'”
When asked if she had ever manifested an Oscar nomination, Madison said, “No, I don’t think I ever wrote it down, it always felt so far-fetched and far away from me and my life, but I always dreamed of it so it’s amazing.”
“I’m just gonna be soaking it in and digesting it and just trying to keep this memory of this morning and hold it forever because it’s so special,” she added.
Coralie Fargeat
The Substance filmmaker spoke to GMA about her best director nomination and said, “I feel so good, this is such amazing news and amazing news. I was really screaming out of joy.”
“When I write a film, a part of me always hopes and believes that this can happen because this is why I make films,” she said. “Because this is the magic of putting stories out in the world and this story in particular for what it says, I kind of felt if I succeeded to do it right, it could have a strong resonance about what it says about women in society so I mean you could never know then how it’s gonna go to the audience and in the world, but when the magic happens, this is such a joy and I’m really so proud.”
Fargeat, who is the only female director nominated in the directing category this year, commented on the lack of female representation in the category, saying, “It says a lot about the road we still have to go and personally I’m extremely proud to be proud of this change that we need … I have wanted to be a filmmaker and director since I was 15. That’s who I am, that’s where I feel free and good and powerful.”
She said she is “most proud” when she hears from young directors who are inspired by her.
“I’m really proud to be invited to the table,” she added. “I think we need even more progress regarding this. But personally, that’s a critical achievement and I’m so so happy.”
Diane Warren
Warren, whose song “The Journey” from the film The Six Triple Eight is nominated for best original song, told ABC News’ Chris Connelly that she had “been up all night” leading up to the nominations announcement.
“I’m so excited,” Warren said. “I’m not cool enough to go to sleep and have someone call me. I have all my friends over and we sit very anxiously in front of the TV and [this] time there was a little commercial break before the second set of nominations and jumps up in the air just with excitement.”
“This is a really special song, I think to me one of my best songs. And I love the movie and you never know what’s gonna happen so I’m just so excited, I’m so thrilled,” she said.
Warren said the nominated song now “takes on a whole other meaning” after she lost her home in the LA fires. “A lot of people lost their houses, lost everything — I had a really beautiful beach house I had for like 27 years or something like that that burned to the ground basically, the first day of the fires,” she said. “But as terrible as that was, I think a lot of people had it a lot worse. I also have an animal rescue ranch also in Malibu that nothing happened to thank God. As bad as it was, it was so bad for so many people.”
“The song, if you listen to the words of this song, it’s about strength and resilience. It almost takes on a whole other meaning now with what’s going on in Los Angeles,” she added.
Yura Borisov
Borisov, who is nominated for best actor in a supporting role for his performance in Anora, reacted to his nomination in an interview with GMA.
“We are happy!” he shared, smiling alongside his family.
“It’s a big laugh everywhere here,” he said before explaining that all his friends were reaching out to congratulate him. “It’s a great moment. I feel that a lot of people are very happy because of this.”
Kris Bowers
Academy Award winner Bowers, who is nominated this year for best original score for The Wild Robot, told GMA that he’s excited about the recognition.
“I’m just excited to be there and it’s awesome to see the other nominees,” he said. “I’m such a huge fan of all of them and through this whole awards season, been seeing all of them at these other awards and everything and it’s always such a friendly, familial relationship with all of them. So i’m just excited to celebrate with everybody no matter what happens.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar has confirmed she is returning to her iconic character Buffy Summers in a reboot of the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
In a post shared to Instagram on Thursday, Gellar wrote that fans may have heard the news, but that she realized she had yet to confirm it.
“Three years ago, I got a call from my dear friend and mentor, Gail Berman. She told me that she wanted me to sit down with Chloé Zhao to hear her take on a potential ‘Buffy’ revival,” Gellar wrote. “I was blown away that Chloé even knew who I was, but, as I’ve always done, I told Gail that I just didn’t see a way for the show to exist again.”
Gellar wrote that Berman would usually be aligned with her in thinking that way, but that this time she heard “something different in her voice.” The actress then agreed to meet with Zhao, and their 20-minute coffee outing quickly turned into a four-hour meeting.
“We laughed, we cried, but mostly we both talked about how much this show means to us,” Gellar said. “While I didn’t agree to anything at that meeting, I did shock myself by agreeing to continue the conversation.”
Those conversations extended over the next three years, as they continued to add new collaborators, including Nora and Lilla Zuckerman, to the project. Eventually they landed on an idea for the reboot.
“I have always listened to the fans and heard your desire to revisit ‘Buffy’ and her world, but it was not something I could do unless I was sure we would get it right,” Gellar wrote. “This has been a long process, and it’s not over yet. I promise you, we will only make this show if we know we can do it right. And I will tell you that we are on the path there.”
Gellar ended her post by saying the new show is entirely because of and for the fans.
“I feel so lucky to be on this journey with these four unbelievably talented women, all of whom love ‘Buffy’ as much as I do. And as much as you do,” Gellar wrote. “Thank you to all the fans who never stopped asking for this. This will be for you.”
NBC’s Happy’s Place has been renewed for a second season.
Reba McEntire and NBC shared the news via an Instagram Reel on Thursday, which shows Reba sharing the good news with her cast mates, including Melissa Peterman, Belissa Escobedo, Pablo Castelblanco, Tokala Black Elk and her real-life boyfriend, Rex Linn.
Holding hands in a circle, the actors erupted in excitement when they found out and went around giving each other hugs.
“Tears of joy,” Reba told the camera as she pointed to her tear-filled eyes. “We got picked up for a second season. They just told us right before we’re going to go on to do the last show of the first season.”
“What a gift,” she adds. “Thank you Lord, thank you Lord!”
Happy’s Place airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and streams the next day on Peacock.
In more Reba news, the Academy of Country Music recently announced the “Fancy” singer’s returning to host the 60th ACM Awards, streaming live from Frisco, Texas, on Amazon Prime on May 8.
