Selena Gomez has responded to Eugenio Derbez’s criticism of her Emilia Pérez accent.
“I understand where you are coming from,” Gomez, 32, wrote via TikTok comment on Saturday, December 7. “I’m sorry. I did the best I could with the time I was given.”
She added, “Doesn’t take away from how much work and heart I put into this movie.”
Gomez plays Jessi in Emilia Pérez, which is now streaming on Netflix, a musical drama about a transgender woman who seeks to leave her past life as a cartel boss. The film also stars Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoë Saldaña and is primarily a Spanish-language film.
Derbez, 63, made waves earlier this month when he criticized Gomez’s attempt at speaking the language.
“Selena is indefensible,” Derbez said in Spanish on a recent episode of the “Hablando de Cine” podcast. “I [watched Emilia Pérez] with people, and every time she had a scene, we looked at each other to say, ‘Wow, what is this?’”
Podcast host Gaby Meza agreed with Derbez and claimed that Spanish not being Gomez’s primary or even secondary language dampers the “nuance” of her performance.
“I feel like she doesn’t know what she’s saying,” Meza added. “If she doesn’t know what she’s saying, she can’t give her acting any nuance.”
Derbez did, ultimately, enjoy Emilia Pérez overall — but was confused by French native Jaques Audiard serving as director.
“I liked the film, aside from the Selena [moments] that jump at you, because it has salvageable things,” Derbez said. “But I told myself, ‘How weird that 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 made a film in Russian without knowing the culture or speaking Russian and talking in French.”
Despite their critiques, Derbez and Meza did note that Gomez was a good actress, acknowledging her talent and Emmy nomination for her hit Hulu series, Only Murders in the Building.
Gomez is not a native Spanish speaker, but she took lessons ahead of filming Emilia Pérez in order to honor the culture and her familial roots. (Gomez’s dad is Mexican American.)
“I got my first job at 7, and most of my jobs from that point on were English and I just lost [my Spanish],” Gomez told NPR last month. “That’s kind of the case for a lot of people, especially Mexican American people.”
She added, “I wish I just knew a lot more than I do. But I think that’s why I try to honor my culture as much as possible — from releasing an album in Spanish to wanting to pursue this movie. And I don’t think it’ll be the last thing I do in Spanish.”
Emilia Pérez is currently streaming on Netflix.
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