Selena Gomez has come under fire for her Spanish-speaking skills in her new film, prompting the actress to respond.
Emilia Pérez, a musical thriller written and directed by Jacques Audiard, stars Gomez as Jessi Del Monte, alongside Zoe Saldana as Rita Mora Castro and Karla Sofía Gascón as the titular Emilia Pérez.
The plot follows the story of the person who later becomes Emilia Pérez. After starting life as a biological male and an intimidating leader of the cartel in Mexico, they take the advice of a lawyer in order to help them disappear and get what they've always dreamed of - transitioning into a woman.
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Gomez's role in the film has divided viewers, with some commending the star, whose father is of Mexican descent, and others arguing that her use of Spanish isn't up to scratch.
Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez took aim at the language skills in a now-deleted episode of the Hablando de Cine podcast, wherein he called Gomez's Spanish 'indefensible'.
63-year-old Derbez said: "Selena is indefensible.
“I [watched Emilia Pérez] with people, and every time she had a scene, we looked at each other to say, ‘Wow, what is this?'”
The podcast host, Gaby Meza, agreed.
She said Gomez is a 'very talented actress', before adding: “Spanish is not her main language, not her secondary or fifth.
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“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.”
Derbez then added: “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.”
Gomez has since responded to the criticism.
In a TikTok comment, she wrote: “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.”
The apology has prompted a response from Derbez, who wrote on TikTok: "I truly apologise for my careless comments - they are indefensible and 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.
“Emilia Pérez deserves to be celebrated, not diminished by my thoughtless remarks. I’m walking away from this with an important lesson learned.”
Topics: Celebrity, Selena Gomez, TV And Film, Netflix
Kya Buller