Yahoo Lifestyle Selena Gomez Hits Back At Eugenio Derbez Criticizing Her Spanish In 'Emilia Pérez'
Selena Gomez has responded to Eugenio Derbez after he trashed her performance in “Emilia Pérez.”
While appearing on an upcoming episode of the “Hablando de Cine” podcast, the “Coda” star criticized Gomez for speaking Spanish in the film, calling her performance “indefensible.” Gomez is not a native speaker of the language.
In “Emilia Pérez,” which is directed by French filmmaker Jacques Audiard, Gomez stars alongside Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofía Gascón in the musical crime drama, portraying Jessi del Monte.
“Selena is indefensible,” Derbez said of Gomez’s role in “Emilia Pérez,” according to The Hollywood Reporter. “I was there [watching the movie] with people, and every time a scene came [with her in it], we looked at each other to say, ‘Wow, what is this?’”
After host Gaby Meza noted that Gomez is a “very talented actress” and has scored nominations for her role on Hulu’s comedy-drama “Only Murders in the Building,” Meza went on to side with Derbez on the singer’s performance in “Emilia Pérez,” which hit Netflix on Nov. 13.
“Spanish is neither her primary nor secondary language nor fifth. And that’s why I feel she doesn’t know what she is saying, and if she doesn’t know what she’s saying, she can’t give her acting any nuance,” Meza said. “And that is why her performance is not only unconvincing but uncomfortable.”
“I’m glad you’re saying that because I was saying, ‘I can’t believe no one is talking about it?’” Derbez replied.
The comedian then argued that Gomez has been receiving recognition for her “Emilia Pérez” role because viewers who don’t speak Spanish are relying on subtitles, likely making them oblivious to Gomez’s lackluster performance in the process.
“I feel like what happens is they don’t speak Spanish,” Derbez said. “If you watch a Russian film or a German film that is subtitled in Spanish and you see someone [speaking in the original language], you say, ‘Oh, look. OK. How interesting.’”
Derbez also took a jab at Audiard for directing the movie without being fluent in Spanish himself, which the actor stressed is critical for “understanding the culture.”
“I liked the film apart from Selena’s [scenes] that jump at you because it has manageable things,” Derbez said. “But I was saying, ‘How strange because if the director doesn’t speak English or Spanish and the movie is in Spanish and English, and it takes place in Mexico and you don’t understand the culture.’ It’s like if I wanted to make a film in Russian without knowing the culture or Russian and speaking in French.”
After a clip of Derbez’s interview was shared on TikTok, she commented on the post to address his comments about her.
“I understand where you are coming from,” Gomez said, per THR. “I’m sorry I did the best I could with the time I was given. Doesn’t take away from how much work and heart I put into this movie.”
Derbez has since apologized for his comments, writing in a letter posted to his TikTok account, “As Latinos, we should always support one another. There’s no excuse. I was wrong, and I deeply admire your career and your kind heart.”
