Actor Eugenio Derbez apologizes to Selena Gomez for criticizing her Spanish in 'Emilia Pérez'

Selena Gomez has gone on social media to defend her role in the new Netflix film "Emilia Pérez" amid criticism from well-known Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez.

Derbez recently appeared on a Spanish-language podcast where he called Gomez’s Spanish in “Emilia Pérez” “indefensible.” In the same clip Derbez, also added that as he watched the movie, he thought, "Wow, what is this?” The actor also agreed with host Gaby Meza, who felt Gomez was unable to give nuance to her performance because Spanish isn't her primary language and she didn't understand what she was saying.

Gomez, who says she grew up speaking Spanish, responded on the TikTok comment section of the podcast video, saying: “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.”

After receiving backlash for his critical comments towards the actress and singer, Derbez responded by apologizing to Gomez, writing on TikTok that his “careless comments” went against “everything I stand for,” adding, “There's no excuse. I was wrong, and I deeply admire your career and your kind heart.”

After “Emilia Pérez” debuted on Netflix in November, Gomez spoke to NPR about taking Spanish lessons for nearly half a year to prepare for her role as Jessi Del Monte, the wife of a cartel kingpin. “I got my first job at seven, and most of my jobs from that point on were English,” she told NPR. “And I just lost (my Spanish). That’s kind of the case for a lot of people, especially Mexican American people.”

“I wish I just knew a lot more than I do. But I think that’s why I try to honor my culture as much as possible — from releasing an album in Spanish to wanting to pursue this movie. And I don’t think it’ll be the last thing I do in Spanish,” she added.

Despite the criticism, Gomez remains focused on celebrating her achievements, including her recent Golden Globe nominations for best supporting actress in a motion picture-musical or comedy (“Emilia Pérez”) as well as best actress in a musical or comedy TV series for her role as Mabel Mora in “Only Murders in the Building.”  Her fellow “Emilia Pérez” co-stars Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón also received Golden Globe nominations, as did the movie itself, which received 10 nominations in total.