She included a photo of the design, which featured a repeating pattern alternating between her campaign logo and a graphic with the text, “No [image of balls] in our stalls.”
She wrote:
“My team just informed me that no company would make this wrapping paper for us because it’s too ‘offensive.' What I find offensive is men in women’s bathrooms. But anyway, who would’ve bought this wrapping paper?”
You can see her post below.
@NancyMace/X
She was swiftly criticized.
Mace has ramped up her transphobic attacks since House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that transgender women would be prohibited from using women's bathroom facilities at the U.S. Capitol.
Johnson's announcement followed a proposal from Mace shortly after Delaware elected Democrat McBride as the first openly transgender member of Congress. The proposal appears to target McBride, who secured Delaware's lone seat in the House.
In turn, McBride criticized the GOP, saying that "every single time we hear the incoming administration or Republicans in Congress talk about any vulnerable group in this country, we have to be clear that it is an attempt to distract.” She encouraged listeners to consider "what they’re doing to pick the pocket of American workers, to fleece seniors by privatizing social security and Medicare. Look at what they’re doing, undermining workers.”
This week, McBride joined legislators and activists from across Delaware to rally the LGBTQ community and advocate against what they described as threats to their freedoms. Acknowledging the challenges the community may face in the next four years, McBride emphasized Delaware’s role as a leader in advancing equality. On a federal level, she pledged to continue fighting for the LGBTQ community’s right to live free from discrimination.
She emphasized that she thinks "we recognize the fundamental humanity of every single one of our fellow Delawareans, regardless of background, regardless of identity, regardless of political persuasion."
She concluded her remarks by acknowledging that "the story of our movement, the story of our community, the story of this country is the story of advocates, activists and effective and compassionate elected officials working together to right the wrongs of our past, to address injustice, to bring about change that once seems so impossible."
The Only Murders in the Building actor said she studied Spanish for six months in preparation for her role, which eventually garnered her a Best Actress nod in a critically acclaimed movie that was named one of the American Film Institute’s top 10 films of the year.
She mentioned having lost the ability to speak the language fluently since moving to California at a young age to pursue a Hollywood career.
Amid positive buzz for Emilia Pérez, Derbez, who was born and raised in Mexico City, appeared on Gaby Meza’s podcast Hablando de Cine, and criticized Gomez's Spanish-speaking performance, calling it "indefensible."
The CODA star continued:
“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 interview, conducted in Spanish, was shared in a TikTok video seen below.
In the comments section, Gomez responded to the criticism leveled at her, writing:
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."
@elviboreo/TikTok
Fans had her back.
@elviboreo/TikTok
@elviboreo/TikTok
@elviboreo/TikTok
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@elviboreo/TikTok
Derbez took Gomez's clapback to heart and shared the following message on his TikTok page.
His statement read:
"I truly apologize for my careless comments—they are indefensible and go against everything I stand for. As Latinos, we should always support one another."
The 63-year-old continued:
"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," Derbez added.
@ederbez/TikTok
Social media users shared their thoughts.
@elviboreo/TikTok
@ederbez/TikTok
@elviboreo/TikTok
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@elviboreo/TikTok
@elviboreo/TikTok
During Gaby Meza's podcast episode, the host acknowledged Gomez as a “very talented actress" and “very good singer."
But the praise ended there.
She dissected Gomez's performance to expose her imperfect Spanish.
"Spanish is neither her primary nor secondary language nor fifth," said Meza, adding:
"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.”
Derbez nodded in agreement, saying:
“I’m glad you’re saying that because I was saying, ‘I can’t believe no one is talking about it?’”
He also couldn't fathom why Gomez's performance was receiving praise and generating awards buzz.
Gomez was awarded the Cannes Film Festival’s Best Actress prize, along with co-stars Karla, Adriana Paz, and Zoe Saldaña, Sofía Gascón—who became the first trans actress to win at Cannes.
Derbez theorized that non-Spanish-speaking audience members didn't question Gomez's performance in the film because they were too focused on reading subtitles and were oblivious to the uninspired performances.
“I feel like what happens is they don’t speak Spanish,” Derbez maintained.
“If you watch a Russian film or a German film that is subtitled in Spanish and you see someone [speaking in the original language], you say, ‘Oh, look. OK. How interesting.’”
He also undermined the film's French director Jacques Audiard, who based Emilia Pérez on his opera libretto of the same name that was loosely adapted from the 2018 novel Écoute by Boris Razon.
Derbez said of Audiard's film:
“I feel like he did a very interesting experiment. I liked the film apart from Selena’s [scenes] that jump at you because it has manageable things."
"But I was saying, ‘How strange because if the director doesn’t speak English or Spanish and the movie is in Spanish and English, and it takes place in Mexico and you don’t understand the culture.’"
"It’s like if I wanted to make a film in Russian without knowing the culture or Russian and speaking in French.”
Gomez grew up speaking Spanish but said she gradually lost her fluency when she and her family moved to California from Texas.
"I got my first job at 7, and most of my jobs from that point on were English," she recalled with NPR, adding, "I just lost [my Spanish]. That's kind of the case for a lot of people, especially Mexican American people."
She intends to revisit her roots with integrity, which is why she spent nearly half a year dedicated to taking Spanish lessons in preparation for her role.
"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," she said.
Gomez noted that Emilia Pérez won't be the last project she does that involves Spanish.
