Selena Gomez responds to Eugenio Derbez’s criticism of her Spanish in 'Emilia Pérez'

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Selena Gomez criticized for her 'Emilia Pérez' performance

Eugenio Derbez is apologizing to Selena Gomez for his comments criticizing her for her Spanish-speaking efforts in her 'Emilia Pérez' performance.

Selena Gomez has responded with grace to harsh criticism from Eugenio Derbez about her Spanish performance in Netflix’s "Emilia Pérez," sparking a public apology from the actor.

The film, directed by Jacques Audiard, is an audacious genre-bending musical about a Mexican drug lord who undergoes gender-affirming surgery to become a woman. It led the nominations at the 82nd Golden Globes on Monday with 10 nods, making it the most recognized film of the year. The movie received acting nods for its three stars: Karla Sofía Gascón, Zoe Saldaña, and Selena Gomez.

RELATED: Golden Globes 2025: 'Emilia Perez' dominates with 10 nominations 

Derbez, known for his role in "CODA", recently appeared on a Spanish-language podcast where he called Gomez’s Spanish in "Emilia Pérez" "indefensible." Gomez, who is not a native Spanish speaker, responded on TikTok, saying:

"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."

Selena Gomez attends the Los Angeles Premiere of Netflix's "Emilia Perez" at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on October 21, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.  (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)

Her response prompted Derbez to issue an apology, describing his remarks as "careless" and "indefensible." He added, "They 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."

Eugenio Derbez attends the Los Angeles premiere of Paramount Pictures' "Gladiator II" at TCL Chinese Theatre on November 18, 2024 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/WireImage)

The controversy became a topic of discussion on Good Day LA, where hosts Amanda Salas and Melvin Robert weighed in.

"Two things can be true at once," Salas said. "He is allowed to have his opinion on a movie. He doesn’t have to love a movie. And he, as someone who is a native speaker, is, of course, looking at it and seeing that her Spanish is not like his. He needs to understand she did not grow up speaking Spanish at home. But it is within her history and culture, as she is half Mexican. I think what he was saying was that her performance wasn’t his favorite, but she also has the right to clap back at him. Her clapback wasn’t even a clapback—she met that with absolute grace."

"Well, I just want to make a note here about public shaming," Robert added. "To your point, we all see things, we don’t like things, but use your inside voice. There’s no need to disparage someone publicly. That’s the piece—going on a podcast to shame her."

Salas agreed, pointing to Derbez’s word choice. "‘Indefensible’ was a bit harsh," she said. "There’s a way to talk about the arts without bringing in a personal dig."

"Words have power. There’s balance," Robert concluded.

The Source: This article was written from quotes from both Eugenio Derbez and Selena Gomez. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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