Selena Gomez responds to Eugenio Derbez’s critique of her Spanish in Emilia Pérez ‘I Gave It My All.’
Selena Gomez is standing firm in defense of her performance in Emilia Pérez.
The 32-year-old singer and actress responded to criticism from Eugenio Derbez regarding her Spanish-speaking role in the acclaimed musical drama.
In a preview clip from an upcoming episode of Gaby Meza’s podcast Hablando de Cine, shared on TikTok, the 63-year-old Mexico-born actor described Gomez’s portrayal as «indefensible,» noting that he and others watching the film found her performance surprising, given her lack of fluency in Spanish.
Addressing the critique in the TikTok comments, the Only Murders in the Building star wrote, “I understand your perspective. I’m sorry—I did the best I could with the time I had. That doesn’t diminish the effort and heart I poured into this project.”
During the podcast, host Gaby Meza praised Selena Gomez as «very talented» but admitted she was underwhelmed by her performance due to the language barrier. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Meza explained, «Spanish isn’t her first, second, or even fifth language. Because of that, I feel she doesn’t fully understand what she’s saying, and if she doesn’t understand, it’s impossible to bring depth or nuance to her acting.»
Eugenio Derbez shared similar views, expressing disbelief that the issue hadn’t been more widely discussed. «I’m glad you brought this up because I kept thinking, ‘Why is no one talking about it?'» Derbez also questioned the award buzz surrounding Gomez and the film, attributing its positive reception to audiences not being fluent in Spanish.
«I think what’s happening is that the audience doesn’t speak Spanish,» Derbez remarked.
«It’s like watching a Russian or German film with Spanish subtitles. You might find it interesting, but you wouldn’t necessarily catch the nuances in the original language.»
Derbez later issued an apology to Gomez in a TikTok post, acknowledging his mistake. He wrote, «I sincerely apologize for my thoughtless comments — they were indefensible and contradict everything I believe in.
As Latinos, we should always uplift each other, and there’s no excuse for what I said. I was wrong, and I have great respect for your career and your kind heart.»
He added, «Emilia Pérez deserves to be celebrated, not tarnished by my careless words. I’m taking away an important lesson from this.»
