Ashley Benson On Protecting Selena Gomez From Lesbian Make-Out Scene

Ashley Benson, who starred in Spring Breakers along with Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens, recently raised a few eyebrows in an interview with Complex. Benson spoke about avoiding the club scene, acting roles, and bonding with Selena Gomez during the filming of Spring Breakers.

Perhaps the most bizarre comment in Benson’s entire interview, though, was her description of what she refers to as ‘mothering’ Gomez.

Bear in mind that Selena, born in 1992, turned 18 in 2010, and was an adult, capable of legally viewing or purchasing pornographic materials and scenes well before the filming of Spring Breakers. Bear in mind, too, that Ashley Benson is only about two and a half years older than her.

Still, apparently Benson felt she had to protect the slightly-younger actress from witnessing certain scenes of sexual congress during the filming.

Ashley told Complex:

“But I remember looking over to the floor at these two girls rolling around and making out completely naked. At that moment, I literally closed Selena’s eyes. I felt like I had to mother her.”

Benson is referring to the filming of a scene in which a party takes place in a hotel, and explains that she had to stay in character as a ‘party girl’ herself, but felt the need to protect Gomez.

It’s not clear why, or whether she also felt the younger actress should be protected from viewing heterosexual interactions. As Deseret News points out, the role was a break away from the type Gomez had been known for, so perhaps Benson felt that as a Disney star, the younger woman wouldn’t have been exposed to such material before.

Perhaps, like director Harmony Korine, Ashley Benson had a mistaken view of Gomez’s stance. Deseret News also quotes an interview in which Selena explains that the director was worried about her possible reaction to artwork in his home, and that he was way off base:

He thought I was super, super Christian. I was like, ‘If I was a Christian girl, I probably wouldn’t have done this movie.’

Even if Ashley Benson was laboring under the same misapprehensions, at 20 years old, perhaps Gomez was old enough to close her own eyes if she liked.

In the same Complex interview, Benson describes her feelings about going to clubs, saying,

I don’t like clubs at all. The things you see people doing in there make you think, “Oh God, I don’t want to be around this.”

It’s also notable that Benson has indicated she isn’t overly enthusiastic about the possibility of a sequel.

Benson may have been merely projecting her own discomforts onto her younger co-star, but an attempt to control, even jokingly, what another adult views may strike some as creepy. Do you think Ashley Benson’s actions were odd, creepy, or just caring? Share your opinions in the comments below!

[Photo Credit: Elen Nivrae]