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Selena Gomez has spoken out in defence of her performance in Emilia Perez after receiving criticism from actor Eugenio Derbez.
In a recent episode of the Talking about Cinema podcastDerbez described Gomez’s portrayal of Jessi del Monte in the musical crime comedy as “indefensible,” particularly pointing to her struggle with speaking Spanish for the role, as per Deadline.
In Emilia Perez, Gomez plays the role of Jessi, a character in a bilingual film that alternates between Spanish and English.
Although Gomez is not fluent in Spanish, she took on the challenge of speaking the language in the film, a decision that did not sit well with Derbez. He shared his thoughts on the podcast, explaining his dissatisfaction with Gomez’s performance.
“Selena is indefensible,” Derbez said, adding, “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?'”
The podcast host, Gaby Meza, acknowledged Gomez’s acting talent, citing her nominations for ‘Only Murders in the Building’.
However, she argued that because Spanish is not Gomez’s first language, the nuances of her performance were lost.
“If she doesn’t know what she’s saying, she can’t give her acting any nuance,” Meza explained.
Derbez supported this view, saying, “I’m glad you’re saying it because I said, ‘Why is no one talking about that?'”
Derbez, who starred in the Oscar-winning film ‘CODA’, expressed his confusion about why Gomez’s performance has gone unchallenged, especially considering her recognition in award circuits.
He speculated that audiences might overlook the acting’s flatness due to their reliance on subtitles rather than understanding the original language.
“I feel like they don’t speak Spanish,” Derbez remarked, adding, “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,'” as per Deadline.
Derbez also pointed out that the director of Emilia Perez, Jacques Audiard, does not speak Spanish or English, which he believed could have contributed to the film’s disconnection from its Mexican setting and culture.
“How funny that a director… I liked the film, aside from the Selena [scenes] that jump at you, because it has salvageable things,” he said.
He compared the situation to making a film in Russian without understanding the culture or language while speaking in French.
After a clip from the podcast was shared on TikTok, Gomez responded directly to the criticism.
As per Deadline, in the post, 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.”
‘Emilia Perez’ is a musical crime drama written and directed by Jacques Audiard, with a cast that includes Zoe Saldana, Adriana Paz, Mark Ivanir, and Edgar Ramirez.
The plot revolves around a cartel leader who enlists a lawyer to help her disappear and transition into a woman.
