‘I did my best with the time I was given’

Selena Gomez defends her performance in the Netflix musical Emilia Perez.

In the new film, which also stars Zoe Saldaña and Karla Sofía Gascón, Gomez, 32, plays the ex-wife of a Mexican cartel boss. The Only murders in the building star, who took home the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Actress award for the film. She plays a bilingual character in the film, but is not fluent in Spanish in real life.

The actor and producer Eugenio Derbez criticized Gomez’s role in the film on the Hablando de Cine podcast, arguing that Gomez is not fluent in Spanish even though her father is of Mexican descent. In the podcast, Derbez calls Gomez’s work “indefensible” in Spanish. The host, Gaby Meza, agreed, arguing that she felt like Gomez didn’t know what she was saying. Both regretted that the film’s French director, Jacques Audiard, had not hired a Spanish-speaking actor for the role.

Gomez saw a clip of the podcast on TikTok on Sunday and responded in the comments section, writing, “I understand where you’re 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 film.”

It appears the comment has now been deleted.

While many agreed with Derbez and Meza, others defended the 13 reasons why producer in the comments section, with many pointing out that Gomez’s character is from the United States and learned Spanish later in life. Others shared that they thought her performance was “amazing” and said that “she did a great job.”

The Emilia Perez The role is Gomez’s first in a Spanish-language role, but she told Variety that she spoke Spanish at home until she was seven and grew up embracing her Mexican heritage with her father’s side of the family. The Wizards of Waverly Place alum also brought Spanish into her music in 2021 when she released the EP Revelation.

In a November interview with NPR’s Fresh Air, Gomez said speaking Spanish was an important factor for her in taking on the role in Emilia Perez. “I got my first job when I was seven, and from then on most of my jobs were English,” she said at the time. ‘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 I can — from releasing an album in Spanish to pursuing this movie,” Gomez added. “And I don’t think this will be the last thing I do in Spanish.”