Selena Gomez has been in the spotlight lately after her role in Netflix‘s Emilia Pérez sparked both praise and criticism.
While the film has received recognition for its interesting plot and strong cast, Selena’s portrayal of Jessi del Monte — a character who speaks Spanish — has divided viewers, especially because she’s not fluent in the language.
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Eugenio Derbez criticizes Selena Gomez’s Spanish performance
Selena Gomez is responding to Eugenio Derbez’s criticism of her performance in Emilia Pérez. Eugenio was a guest on the Hablando de Cine podcast, where he said that Gomez’s performance was “indefensible.”
In the clip shared on TikTok, he admitted that while watching the movie, he thought, “Wow, what is this?”
Eugenio shares why he found Selena’s performance lacking
The actor agreed with the host, Gaby Meza, who believed Selena couldn’t bring the necessary nuance to her role because Spanish isn’t her first language and she didn’t fully understand what she was saying.
“I feel like they don’t speak Spanish,” Eugenio said. “If you watch a Russian film or a German film, subtitled in Spanish, and you see someone speaking in the original language, you think, ‘Oh, look. OK! Interesting.’”
He explains how subtitles can hide language and cultural gaps
Eugenio further explained that the audience may not notice the lack of depth in the acting because they rely on subtitles rather than the language. “I thought it was an interesting experiment,” he added. “I liked the film, except for the Selena scenes that stand out, because they have redeeming qualities. But I thought, ‘How odd that the director doesn’t speak Spanish or English, yet the film is in both languages, set in Mexico, and he doesn’t understand the culture.’”
He went on: “It’s like making a Russian movie without speaking Russian or understanding the culture and talking in French.”
Selena responds to the criticism with grace
Selena addressed the backlash with a pretty chill comment on the TikTok video. “I understand where you’re coming from,” she wrote.
“I’m sorry, I did the best I could with the time I was given,” she said before adding, “Doesn’t take away from how much work and heart I put into this movie.” Smooth!
Eugenio apologizes for his comments
Eugenio later apologized to Selena on TikTok, admitting that his “careless comments” went against his own values. He wrote, “There’s no excuse. I was wrong, and I deeply admire your career and your kind heart.”
Emilia Pérez garners acclaim despite the controversy
Emilia Pérez got a lot of love when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Selena shared Cannes’ joint best actress prize with co-stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, and Adriana Paz. Currently, the film is in the running for multiple Oscar nominations.
Social media reacts to Selena’s performance
But when the film hit Netflix in November, it got some criticism on socials. A viral X post featured a short clip from one of Selena’s scenes, criticizing her for “thinking this is an acceptable way to speak Spanish.”
However, some defended Selena, noting that her character, Jessi Del Monte, is American and speaks Spanish as a second language.
Selena’s journey to reclaim her Spanish fluency
In an interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, Selena shared that she used to speak Spanish as a child but lost fluency over the years. To prepare for the role, she took six months of Spanish lessons.
“I got my first job at 7, and most of my jobs from then on were in English,” she explained. “I just lost my Spanish, and that’s common for a lot of Mexican American people.”
Selena embraces her Mexican heritage despite language challenges
Despite not being fluent, Selena told Entertainment Weekly that not speaking Spanish perfectly doesn’t make her any less proud or less Mexican.
“I may not be fluent, but that doesn’t change how I feel about my heritage,” she said.
This debate sparks bigger conversations about cultural representation
Her attempts to reconnect with her roots while facing criticism just show how challenging it can be to navigate one’s cultural identity in the public eye.
At the end of the day, Selena’s just doing her best, and that’s something we should all appreciate!
