Selena defends Emilia Perez role after Eugenio Derbez’s criticism

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 Hablando de Cine podcast, Derbez 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.
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.” (ANI)