Selena Gomez taught Steve Martin the lyrics to 'WAP' - Los Angeles Times

Dear Hulu: Please release footage of Selena Gomez teaching Steve Martin ‘WAP’ on set

A woman with long, brown hair posing in a gray blazer

By Christi CarrasStaff Writer

Aug. 20, 2021 10:45 AM PT

Martin Short has confirmed that Selena Gomez and Steve Martin were talking WAP, WAP, WAP on the set of the trio’s forthcoming Hulu series, “Only Murders in the Building.”

While shooting the comedic murder mystery last year, 29-year-old Gomez took it upon herself to educate 76-year-old Martin about Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion’s sex-positive summer anthem “WAP.”

As the youngest star on the project, the Disney Channel alum volunteered to explain multiple concepts to her clueless older castmates, Gomez and Short told Elle magazine in an interview published Thursday.

“There was a line in the script that said, ‘She’s an OG.’ And Steve walked up and said, ‘Can somebody tell me what OG means?’ ” Gomez said. “I started dying laughing.”

After the “Lose You to Love Me” hitmaker taught Martin the lyrics to “WAP” (which — for all the Steve Martins out there who don’t know — is an acronym for something that cannot be repeated here), “Steve said, ‘Marty, I just heard new lyrics to “Top Hat and Tails,” ’” said Short, 71.

Hulu, if you’re listening, we’re begging you to release behind-the-scenes footage of Gomez doing the lord’s work.

Premiering Aug. 31, “Only Murders in the Building” stars Gomez and the pair of comedy legends as nosy neighbors investigating a murder in their New York City apartment complex on the Upper West Side.

Because production on the series began in November 2020 in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cast and crew were required to adhere to strict health and safety protocols. While shooting at least seven takes of a kissing scene, for example, Gomez was instructed to wash her mouth out with Listerine between each take.

“It burned my mouth,” the “Revelación” artist told Elle. “I was like, ‘I want to throw up.’ I’ve never experienced a set like that.”

“Only Murders in the Building” marks Gomez’s first major role in a scripted TV program since her breakout turn as angsty teen Alex Russo in the hit Disney Channel sitcom “Wizards of Waverly Place.”

Since the early 2010s, Gomez has focused primarily on her flourishing music career — along with scattered film performances, a charitable beauty line and, most recently, her quarantine cooking show, “Selena + Chef.”

“She’s a brilliant actress,” Short told Elle after working with Gomez. “And there’s an immediate warmth and loveliness to her.”

“Marty and I were both knocked out by her understanding that quiet acting is powerful acting,” Martin added, then joked, “Marty doesn’t yet understand this.”

The feeling was mutual for Gomez, who fondly referred to Martin and Short as her “uncles” while discussing her close relationship with the veteran performers.

“I got to be in a space with so much wisdom,” she said.

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Former staff writer Christi Carras reported on the entertainment industry for the Los Angeles Times. She previously covered entertainment news for The Times after graduating from UCLA and working at Variety, the Hollywood Reporter and CNN Newsource.

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