Eugenio Derbez has apologised to Selena Gomez for his criticism of her 'Emilia Perez' performance.
The 63-year-old actor had slammed the 'Only Murders in the Building' actress for her "undefensible" work in the musical thriller - in which she speaks Spanish, despite not being fluent in the language - but after she insisted she had done "the best [she] could" on the project, the 'Miracles from Heaven' star has now issued a heartfelt apology for his "careless" remarks.
Eugenio wrote on TikTok: "I truly apologise for my careless comments - 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. With all my love and admiration, Eugenio Derbez.”
The comedian had claimed he had struggled to watch Selena's scenes in the movie.
Speaking on the 'Hablando de Cine' podcast: "Selena is indefensible. 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?’"
Podcast host Gaby Meza subsequently observed that Selena is a "very talented actress" and a "very good singer" but suggested the former Disney star had struggled performing in Spanish, describing the actress' efforts as "unconvincing" and "uncomfortable".
The podcast host said: "Spanish is neither her primary nor secondary language nor fifth. And that’s why I feel she doesn’t know what she is saying, and if she doesn’t know what she’s saying, she can’t give her acting any nuance … And that is why her performance is not only unconvincing but uncomfortable."
Eugenio then added: "I’m glad you’re saying that because I was saying, ‘I can’t believe no one is talking about it?'"
The criticism of Selena's performance was widely shared on social media, and the 32-year-old actress ultimately took to TikTok to defend herself.
Selena - who has Mexican and Italian ancestry - commented: "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."
