Selena Gomez responds to Eugenio Derbez's criticism of her 'Emilia Perez' role: 'I did the best I could'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Eugenio Derbez sparked a heated debate during his appearance on the 'Hablando de Cine' podcast, where he openly criticized Selena Gomez’s acting in Jacques Audiard’s 'Emilia Perez'.

The Mexican actor described her performance as “indefensible,” noting that her lack of fluency in Spanish undermined her role as Jessi del Monte in the musical crime comedy, as reported by Deadline.

Selena Gomez responds to Eugenio Derbez’s criticism of her role in 'Emilia Perez'

“Selena is indefensible,” Derbez remarked. “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?’” Derbez said.

Derbez explained that viewers often fail to notice the lack of depth in performances because they rely on subtitles instead of understanding the language. He recalled attending a screening of the film with the director and learning during the Q&A session that Audiard doesn't speak either Spanish or English.

After the podcast comments went viral on TikTok, Gomez addressed the criticism directly. “I understand where you are coming from,” she wrote. “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.”

'Emilia Perez', which explores a cartel leader’s transition with the help of a lawyer, also stars Zoe Saldana, Edgar Ramírez, and Adriana Paz. Despite the backlash, Gomez’s supporters have highlighted her commitment to the challenging multilingual role.

Selena Gomez faces criticism over 'Emilia Perez' performance

Selena Gomez’s role in Jacques Audiard’s 'Emilia Perez' has drawn sharp criticism from Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez and podcast host Gaby Meza. During an episode of 'Hablando de Cine', Meza acknowledged Gomez’s talents as an actress and singer, noting her Emmy-nominated performance in 'Only Murders in the Building'.

However, she argued that Gomez’s lack of fluency in Spanish significantly hindered her ability to convey nuance in her performance.

“Spanish is neither her primary nor secondary language nor even her fifth,” Meza said. “If she doesn’t know what she’s saying, she can’t give her acting any nuance. And that is why her performance is not only unconvincing but uncomfortable.”

Derbez, who starred in the Oscar-winning film 'CODA', agreed wholeheartedly. “I can’t believe no one is talking about it,” he said. He went further, questioning the acclaim Gomez has received for her role. Gomez and her co-stars were awarded the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival and are generating Oscar buzz.

Derbez speculated that non-Spanish-speaking audiences may not detect the performance’s shortcomings because they rely on subtitles. He also raised concerns about the film’s cultural authenticity, noting that Audiard, a French director who does not speak Spanish or English, helmed a movie rooted in Mexican culture.

“How strange,” Derbez remarked. “I felt it was an interesting experiment,” he said. “How funny that a director… I liked the film, aside from the Selena (scenes) that jump at you, because it has salvageable things. 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.”