Eugenio Derbez Apologizes After Criticizing Selena Gomez’s Spanish in ‘Emilia Pérez’
The Mexican actor was critical of Selena Gomez who is not a native or fluent Spanish speaker
Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez poses on the red carpet of the film “Radical”, at the Morelia Film Festival in Morelia, Mexico, Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (AP Photo/Berenice Bautista) Selena Gomez arrives at the premiere of "Emilia Perez" on Monday, Oct. 21, 2024, at The Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Mexican American singer and actress Selena Gomez has been open about her struggles with speaking Spanish, and she recently starred in the Netflix Spanish-language musical film Emilia Pérez alongside Zoe Saldaña with both actresses receiving praise for their roles. However, not everyone was impressed with the 32-year-old’s work in the film. Mexican actor and comedian Eugenio Derbez, who starred in Coda and Instructions Not Included and earned critical praise for his work on Radical, recently went on the Spanish-language entertainment podcast Hablando de Cine where he slammed her use of Spanish in the film.
“Selena is indefensible,” Derbez said of the performance. “I [watched Emilia Pérez] with people, and every time she had a scene, we looked at each other to say, ‘Wow, what is this?’”
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Gomez, who is not a fluent or native Spanish speaker, plays the titular character’s wife Jessi Del Monte in the musical crime drama, which follows a former cartel boss, played by Spanish actress Karla Sofia Gascón, who secretly escapes her dangerous life to transition into living as a woman. Zoe Saldaña plays a sentimental lawyer who helps Emilia Pérez manage the relationship with her kids and ex-wife.
Derbez and the podcast’s host Gaby Meza also noted that while Gomez is a “very talented actress,” her Spanish severely dampers the “nuance” of her performance. He also added that while he enjoyed the film, he wondered why the film’s French director, Jacques Audiard, made a film featuring Mexican culture when it’s completely foreign to him and he doesn’t speak Spanish:
“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 talk in French.”
After the clip circulated on Tiktok, Gomez left a comment on the post, writing: “I understand where you are coming from. 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.”
Following Gomez’s comment and some backlash for his comments, Derbez took to Tiktok himself to retract his criticisms and issued an apology to Gomez for his “careless comments”:
“[My comments] are indefensible and go against everything I stand for. 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,” Derbez wrote. “Emilia Pérez deserves to be celebrated, not diminished by my thoughtless remarks. I’m walking away from this with an important lesson learned. While I understand if you cannot accept my apology, please know it comes from the heart.”
Despite Derbez’s comments, Neftlix’s Emilia Pérez is a front-runner at this year’s Academy Awards and Golden Globes. With a total of 10 Golden Globe nominations, it has set a record as the most nominated comedy or musical film in history. Additionally, Saldaña and Gomez were both nominated for Best Supporting Female Actor in a Motion Picture for their roles.
