Eugenio Derbez issued an apology to Selena Gomez after negatively critiquing her performance in Netflix's new musical, Emilia Pérez.
Derbez recently sat down with the Spanish language podcast, Hablando de Cine, where he slammed Gomez’s effort at speaking Spanish.
"Selena is indefensible,” Derbez said per Entertainment Weekly. “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?’”
The singer and actress caught wind of his comments and apologized on TikTok. “I understand where you are coming from,” she wrote in a comment. “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.”
She later wrote, “Also do not ever say my fans are the problem standing up, as you say, for me.”
Selena’s sincerity caused Derbez to give his commentary a second thought.
"Dear Selena, I truly apologize for my careless comments," he wrote in a letter posted on TikTok. "They are indefensible and go against everything I stand for. As Latinos, we should always support one another. There's not excuse. I was wrong, and I deeply admire your career and your kind heart."
He continued, "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."
Gomez has been upfront about not being a native Spanish speaker. Emilia Pérez is her first role almost solely speaking in Spanish.
