I don’t know if you’ve heard, but Selena Gomez has been nominated for not one, but two Golden Globes. Her nominations were in the categories of best performance by an actress in a television series for her work on Only Murders in the Building and best performance by an actress in a supporting role in a motion picture for her work in Emilia Pérez. In an odd twist of events, her nominations come after her performance in Emilia Pérez was, in no uncertain terms, panned by Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez.
More from MamásLatinas: Selena Gomez took Spanish lessons for 6 months to prepare for ‘Emilia Pérez’
Eugenio recorded an episode of the Hablando de Cine Con podcast with host Gaby Meza and they both went hard on Selena’s depiction of Jessi Del Monte. They did not mince words about how much they disliked Selena in the film. Both of them said that Selena’s performance was “indefensible” because of how she spoke Spanish in the film. Well, Selena not only heard what they had to say, she responded with class and a teachable moment that resulted in a heartfelt apology from Eugenio. Check out how it all went down.
In a clip shared on TikTok, Eugenio and Gaby have a lot to say.
It starts with Eugenio saying that one thing that really caught his attention in the film Emilia Pérez “the acting of Selena Gomez.” He is then interrupted by Gaby who says, “Selena Gomez’ acting is indefensible.”
“Selena is indefensible,” Eugenio agrees later in the clip. “I was there [watching the movie] with people, and every time a scene came [with her in it], we looked at each other to say, ‘Wow, what is this?’”
Neither Eugenio nor Gaby deny that Selena is talented. Gaby and Eugenio both agree that Selena is a good actress and a good singer, but that her performance in this particular film was not nuanced because perhaps she did not understand what she was saying well enough.
Gaby goes as far as saying that Selena’s performance was “not only unconvincing but uncomfortable.” Eugenio agrees so wholeheartedly that he gives Gaby a high five and says he’s glad she said what she said because he really can’t believe that “no one is talking about it.”
Eugenio goes on to say that he finds it strange that the film has a French director who does not speak Spanish or English and is not familiar with Mexican culture because the film takes place in Mexico and the languages spoken are Spanish and English.
I have not seen the film, so I cannot comment on Selena’s performance. Still, I think Eugenio makes a fair point that it is odd the film was directed by someone who does not truly know the culture or speak the languages depicted in the film.
Selena saw the clip and responded with class.
“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.”
Later, she added, “Also do not ever say my fans are the problem standing up, as you say, for me.”
Of course, Eugenio saw Selena’s responses.
Not only did he see her responses, he took the time to issue an apology. “Dear Selena, I truly apologize for my careless comments,” he wrote via TikTok. “They are indefensible and go against everything I stand for. As Latinos, we should always support one another. There’s no excuse. I was wrong, and I deeply admire your career and your kind heart.”
“Emilia Pérez deserves to be celebrated, not diminished by my thoughtless remarks. I’m walking away from this with an important lesson learned. While I understand if you cannot accept my apology, please know it comes from the heart,” he continued.
There is a lesson in this interaction for all of us.
We all have opinions and I certainly do not begrudge Eugenio or Gaby their opinions regarding the film or Selena’s performance. I actually think they make some good points. However, the way we express our opinions does matter and perhaps saying that Selena’s performance was “indefensible” was going a step too far. I mean, she plays a Mexican American woman who is more comfortable expressing herself in English than in Spanish and she is a Mexican American woman who is more comfortable expressing herself in English than Spanish, so I’m not sure how that is “indefensible.”
But the true lesson here is in how Selena handled the matter.
She could have ignored what was said about her or she could have gotten angry and responded in a nasty way. Instead, she acknowledged the comments, did not disparage the opinions, but also had the self-assuredness to express pride in the work she did.
Then Eugenio added to the teachable moment.
Apologizing is hard, but that’s what Eugenio did. Selena was so gracious in her response and Eugenio responded in kind. He didn’t take back everything he said, but he did apologize for his “careless comments.”
The truth of the matter is that it’s OK if he didn’t like Selena’s performance. It’s also OK that Gaby didn’t like Selena’s performance. I think his apology isn’t a retraction of how he feels about Selena’s performance, it’s more about how he expressed himself. Perhaps he could have communicated how he felt without calling her performance “indefensible.”
Personal anecdote coming right up.
Years ago, I had the opportunity to interview Eugenio Derbez in person and I found him to be warm and gracious. I was nervous about meeting him because he’s kind of a big deal in my family. He walked into the lobby of the hotel where the interview was to take place, caught my eye and walked over to introduce himself. He immediately put me at ease. I don’t think that he is an intentionally unkind person and I’m sure he intent wasn’t to be unnecessarily unkind to Selena, but we’re all human and we all have opinions.
Selena grew up speaking Spanish, but lost her fluency once she started acting.
“I got my first job at 7, and most of my jobs from that point on were English,” Selena told NPR in November. “And I just lost [my Spanish]. That’s kind of the case for a lot of people, especially Mexican American people.”
She spent six months working on her Spanish for the film.
“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,” Selena shared. “And I don’t think it’ll be the last thing I do in Spanish.”
Now, excuse me while I go watch Emilia Pérez, which is currently streaming on Netflix. Even if I end up agreeing with Eugenio’s review of Selena’s performance, I guarantee you I will still be proud of her for challenging herself as an actor, performer, and Spanish speaker. You can’t get better at something unless you let yourself practice, practice, practice.
