Selena Gomez Defends Herself After Eugenio Derbez Criticizes Her ‘Emilia Pérez’ Performance

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As a seasoned gamer with a diverse taste in media, I’ve seen my fair share of performances that range from brilliant to… less so. Having dabbled in language learning games myself, I can appreciate the challenges that come with portraying characters fluently in a language that isn’t your own.

Selena Gomez is responding to Eugenio Derbez‘s critique of her acting in the movie, Emilia Pérez.

In an upcoming episode of the “Hablando de Cine” podcast, the prominent figure in both acting and production criticized Salma Hayek’s Spanish in a recent film, as she is not fully proficient in the language. However, it should be noted that she portrays Jessi del Monte in director Jacques Audiard’s musical crime drama.

Selena’s acting, according to Derbez, was hard to justify. He watched the movie with others, and when Selena appeared on screen, they would exchange bewildered glances, saying things like ‘Wow, what’s going on here?’

Host Gaby Meza acknowledged that while Gomez is a highly skilled actress, an excellent vocalist, and has received an Emmy nomination for her work in “Only Murders in the Building,” she primarily speaks languages other than Spanish. As such, Meza believes that Gomez may not fully understand what she’s saying, which makes it challenging for her to add depth or authenticity to her acting performances. This lack of understanding, according to Meza, leads to performances that are not only unconvincing but also awkward to watch.

Derbez wholeheartedly concurred with Meza’s viewpoint, expressing, “It’s great to hear you mention that, as I’ve been wondering aloud, ‘Why isn’t anyone discussing this?’

The actor from CODA has expressed confusion as to why no one else has raised doubts about Gomez’s acting in Emilia Pérez, instead bestowing awards upon her for that role. (It’s worth noting that Gomez shared the Cannes Film Festival’s best actress prize with Karla Sofía Gascón, Adriana Paz, and Zoe Saldaña, and they are all generating significant Oscar buzz.)

Derbez suggests that the audience might not realize the acting is lackluster because they’re watching with subtitles, as they don’t understand Spanish. He likens it to watching a Russian or German film, where seeing someone speak in their original language makes one think, “Ah, interesting.

As a gamer putting on my movie critic hat, let me share an interesting tidbit I picked up at the post-screening Q&A for Overboard: The actor revealed that during our chat, he discovered that director Audiard hails from France and doesn’t converse in Spanish or English. This was a surprise given that the cast of Emilia Pérez communicates in both languages.

Derbez expressed that he found the experiment fascinating. He generally enjoyed the movie, but felt uncomfortable with Selena’s scenes that were jarring due to their intensity. However, he mentioned an unusual aspect, “It’s peculiar because if the director doesn’t grasp the Mexican culture or the Spanish and English languages, yet the film is in both languages, set in Mexico – it’s like me trying to make a film in Russian without understanding the culture or speaking Russian, only using French.

After a segment of the interview was posted on TikTok, it grabbed Gomez’s attention, prompting her to comment on the video. Her message read, “I get your perspective…I’m sorry for what fell short due to time constraints. However, the effort and passion I put into that movie shouldn’t be overlooked.

She later added, “Also do not ever say my fans are the problem standing up, as you say, for me.”

Emilia Perez trails the head of a crime cartel, Emilia Gascón, who recruits Rita Saldaña, a disregarded attorney, to orchestrate a sham demise, allowing Emilia Gascón to undergo gender transition and live genuinely as her real self.

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2024-12-08 06:54