Oscars

Selena Gomez opens up about her performance in ‘Emilia Pérez’: “maybe I could have devoted more time to it”

A number of aspects of the record-equaling movie have been criticized in Mexico, including Gomez’s performance.

Mike Blake

Update: Feb 26th, 2025 09:30 EST

“Emilia Pérez” has been sweeping nominations and awards left, right and center. The movie by French director Jacques Audiard triumphed at the Golden Globes and is up for a record-equaling 13 Oscars. However, this success hasn’t come without controversy on social media.

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“Emilia Pérez” controversy explained

Many Mexicans are unhappy with the film’s portrayal of their country, leading to a significant outcry. One of the main targets of criticism is Selena Gomez, who plays Jessi del Monte in the movie. At the premiere, the actress addressed the backlash and admitted she wasn’t satisfied with her Spanish.

“I’m going to be a bit hard on myself, but this has nothing to do with the film. I feel honored to be part of it, even though I’m not entirely happy with what I think I could have done in Spanish. I hope it doesn’t detract from my performance, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity. Maybe I could have dedicated more time, but I was going full throttle and really wanted to be part of this. It was a challenge.”

When are the Oscars 2025? “Emilia Pérez” eyes history

“Emilia Pérez” is not only the most nominated non-English language film in Oscar history but also ties the record of the most acclaimed production in history, “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” which also received 13 nominations.

Audiard’s film has achieved the same feat, but can it surpass the 11 Academy Awards won by “Ben-Hur” (1959), “Titanic” (1997) and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003)? We’ll find out on March 2.

“Emilia Pérez” is currently showing in theaters.

Original article written by Borja Ruete, translated with the assistance of AI and edited by Roddy Cons.

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