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Selena Gomez respectfully clapped back after Eugenio Derbez criticized her Spanish in her latest film, “Emilia Pérez.”
Her reaction came after the “How to Be a Latin Lover” actor appeared in a since-deleted episode of the “Hablando de Cine” podcast and described Gomez’s Spanish-speaking abilities as “indefensible.”
“I understand where you are coming from..I’m sorry I did the best I could with the time I was given,” the actress wrote in the comments section of a podcast clip that had been reposted on TikTok.
“Doesn’t take away from how much work and heart I put into this movie.”
The Mexico-born actor first shared his opinion on Gomez’s latest project during an interview with “Hablando de Cine” podcast host, Gaby Meza.
“Selena is indefensible,” Derbez, 63, said, according to Variety’s translation of the podcast.
“I [watched ‘Emilia Pérez’] with people, and every time she had a scene, we looked at each other to say, ‘Wow, what is this?’”
According to Variety, Meza echoed his statements, however, she commended Gomez’s efforts and said she is a “very talented actress” although “Spanish is not her main language, not her secondary or fifth.”
“I feel like she doesn’t know what she’s saying,” Meza added. “If she doesn’t know what she’s saying, she can’t give her acting any nuance.”
Gomez, 32, speaks both Spanish and English in the film — which also stars Zoe Saldana — and earned a standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Derbez went on to call “Emilia Pérez” an “interesting experiment” since director Jacques Audiard is also not a native Spanish speaker.
“I liked the film, aside from the Selena [moments] that jump at you, because it has salvageable things,” he explained.
“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.”
Derbez has since apologized to Gomez via TikTok.
“I truly apologize for my careless comments — they are indefensible and go against everything I stand for,” he posted on Saturday.
“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.
“Emilia Pérez deserves to be celebrated, not diminished by my thoughtless remarks. I’m walking away from this with an important lesson learned.”
