Selena Gomez had to defend her Spanish in "Emilia Perez."
The 32-year-old actress reacted to viral footage of Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez criticizing her performance and accent in the highly anticipated Netflix original released last month on Saturday evening.
63-year-old Derbez called Rare founder's behavior "indefensible" on Hablando de Cine, a Spanish-language podcast.
Selena's character Jessi Del Monte, the wife of a Mexican drug cartel lord, is an American who speaks Spanish and escaped to Switzerland, which may explain her accent.
"Selena is indefensible," Derbez said. "I [watched the film] with people, and every time she had a scene, we looked at each other to say to each other, 'Wow, what is this?'"
Selena replied to his critique in the comment section of the TikTok clip showing the CODA actor's comments: "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," per Daily Mail.
The actor was photographed with Selena for the "Emilia Perez" New York Film Festival showing in October. Instead of criticizing the film, the "How on Be a Latin Lover" actor shared a photo on Instagram and tagged Selena and other cast members, calling it a "great movie!"
"I had the opportunity to see the movie #EmiliaPerez Great movie! Thank you very much @adytapaz for the invitation! Mexican Pride!!!" he penned in the caption.
The podcast's host, Gaby Meza, acknowledged that the Disney channel alum is "a very talented actress" who has received various nominations for her on-screen work.
She also critiqued Selena's Spanish vocals and delivery, saying she didn't comprehend her words because she spoke native English.
"Spanish is not her main language, not her secondary or fifth language. And that's why I feel like she doesn't know what she's saying. If she doesn't know what she's saying, she can't give her acting any nuance," Meza said.
"I'm glad you're saying it because I said, Why is no one talking about that?" Derbez said, offering Meza a high-five.
The "Valet" actor wondered why the multihyphenate's picture had not been critiqued in America and provided his interpretation.
"I feel like they don't speak Spanish," he said. "If you watch a Russian film or a German film, that is subtitled to Spanish and you see someone [speaking in the original language], you say, 'Oh, look. OK! Interesting.'"
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Derbez said that non-Spanish speakers could not realize Selena's acting problems since they watch "Emilia Perez" with subtitles.
"I felt it was an interesting experiment," he quipped. "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," he added.
Selena's admirers utilized X to articulate their opinions over the matter.
"Selena is talented, and people need to stop attacking her for not speaking perfect Spanish. This is unnecessary!" one netizen said.
"Eugenio Derbez's comments were uncalled for. Selena did her best in a difficult role," another fan quipped.
"Selena deserves respect for taking on a challenging role in a language that's not her own!" a third chimed in.
"I'm with Selena! No one would say this if the film were in English. Leave her alone!" another fan said.
"I see both sides, but attacking her isn't productive. Let's focus on the film's quality," a fifth user wrote.
"If we expect perfect accents, then let's stop casting non-native speakers in foreign-language roles," a furious netizen said.
Business Times has reached out to Selena Gomez for comments.
