Selena Gomez and Eugenio Derbes
Getty Images (2)Selena Gomez has responded to Eugenio Derbezcriticism of her Emilia Perez accent.
“I understand where you’re 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, “It doesn’t take away how much work and heart I put into this movie.”
Gomez play jessie in Emilia Pereznow streaming on Netflix, a musical drama about a transgender woman who wants to leave her former life as a cartel boss. The film also stars Carla Sophia Gascon and Zoe Saldana and is primarily a Spanish-language film.
Derbes, 63, made headlines earlier this month when he criticized Gomez’s attempt to speak the language.
“Selena is indefensible,” Derbes said in Spanish on a recent episode of the Hablando de Cine podcast. “I (watched Emilia Perez) with people, and every time there was a scene, we’d look at each other to go, “Whoa, what’s that?”
Podcast Host Gaby Meza agreed with Derbez and argued that the fact that Spanish was not Gomez’s primary or even secondary language reduced the “nuance” of her performance.
“I feel like she doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” Meza added. “If she doesn’t know what she’s saying, she can’t bring any nuance to her acting.”
Selena Gomez is adding another movie to her resume with Emilia Perez. The musical crime film centers around lawyer Rita (Zoe Saldaña), who gets an offer to help cartel boss Juan Del Monte, aka Manitas, get out of business and disappear — and also become a woman, according to IMBd. After gender reassignment surgery, the incumbent (…)
Derbez ended up having fun Emilia Perez in general – but was confused by the French native Jacques Audiard acting director.
“I loved the movie, apart from the Selena (moments) that jump out at you because there are things that can be salvaged,” Derbez said. “But I said to myself, ‘How strange that the director doesn’t speak English or Spanish, and the movie is in Spanish and English, and it’s set in Mexico, and you don’t understand the culture.’ It’s like I made a movie in Russian without knowing the culture or to speak Russian and to speak French.”
Despite their criticism, Derbez and Meza noted that Gomez is a good actress, recognizing her talent and an Emmy nomination for her hit Hulu series, Only murders in the building.
Gomez is not a native Spanish, but she took lessons before filming Emilia Perez to honor the culture and her family roots. (Gomez’s father is Mexican American.)
“I got my first job at 7 years old and most of my jobs from that point on were in English and I just lost (my Spanish),” Gomez said NPR last month. “That’s the case for a lot of people, especially Mexican Americans.”
She added: “I just wish I 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 continue this film. And I don’t think this will be the last thing I do in Spanish.”
Emilia Perez currently streaming on Netflix.
