‘Emilia Pérez’ Director Faces Backlash After Calling Spanish the Language of the ‘Poor and Migrants’
MADRID, SPAIN - NOVEMBER 28: (L-R) Jacques Audiard and Karla Sofía Gascón attend the "Emilia Pérez" photocall at Hotel Only You on November 28, 2024 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Pablo Cuadra/Getty Images)
Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard has come under fire for comments made as he was promoting the movie, especially what he said about the Spanish language. Emilia Pérez is currently the movie with the most Oscar nominations this year, with 13 in total.
“Spanish is a language of modest countries, of developing countries, of the poor and migrants,” Audiard said during an interview in France, as he explained why the movie had to be in Spanish, not in English, French, or German. There are an estimated 600 million people in the world that speak Spanish.
Backlash was swift as many called the directors comments racist, especially as ICE raids are skyrocketing in the United States, a market where Emilia Pérez is trying to garner attention and accolades from.
Others pointed out that developing countries all over the world also have French as their language.
And others were questioning how this movie could be nominated for so many Oscars after the directors views on the Spanish language.
Emilia Pérez stars Spanish actress Karla Sofía Gascón, who made history as the first out trans performer ever to be nominated for an Oscar, Zoe Saldaña, who was also nominated for an Oscar, in the Best Supporting Actress category, and Selena Gomez, who has been at the center of a lot of the controversy about the movie because of her Spanish.
The movie has not just been criticized for the fact that of the actors involved, only one—Adriana Paz, in a relatively small role—is Mexican, and no effort was made to make them sound like Mexicans. There has also been strong criticism for the way the movie handles the topic of the “Desaparecidos” or missing due to the cartel violence in Mexico, as well as criticism for the movie’s handling of trans issues.
Emilia Pérez premiered in Mexico on January 23rd, and there has already been a tremendous amount of backlash for its Europe-centric view of the country — including people requesting refunds from movie theaters.
It’s gotten to the point where a trans Mexican content creator, Camila Aurora, even came up with her own response to the movie—a parody called Johanne Sacreblu. The short film jokingly tells a French story filled with stereotypes, and does so without any French actors or any real research into France, which they say is exactly the same thing Emilia Pérez did.