Sofía Vergara didn't let it slide when a Spanish interviewer mocked her accent during a recent appearance on his talk show. As reported by Entertainment Tonight, Vergara appeared on El Hormiguero to promote her new Netflix series, Griselda. But, during their conversation, comedian and host Pablo Motos made fun of Vergara's Colombian accent, prompting her to take him to task for his offensive comments live on stage.
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On the Spanish-language show, Vergara mentioned her long-running TV seriesModern Family, which ended in 2020 after 11 seasons. After she said the show's title, Motos asked, "How do you say Modern Family?" To this Vergara shot back, "It sounds wrong? Oh, because you speak better English than me?"
The 51-year-old star didn't stop there, going on to point out the accolades she received for her performance as Gloria on the sitcom. "How many Emmy nominations do you have in the United States, sorry?" she asked Motos. "How many times were you nominated for Golden Globes, sorry?" According to The Independent, Motos then said, "The Golden Globes are minor awards, they don’t matter to me a bit."
For the record, Vergara was nominated for four Emmys and four Golden Globes during Modern Family's run. She was also nominated three times for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series, and she and the rest of the Modern Family cast took home SAG Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series four times.
Motos and Vergara both posted about her appearance on El Hormiguero on social media. Motos shared a video of them dancing backstage and a different clip from their interview next to which he wrote, "The best jokes are the ones you don't expect. Great @sofiavergara." On her Instagram account, Vergara posted screenshots from the interview and wrote in the caption, "Thank you for inviting me!!!!"
On her post, Vergara received messages from supportive fans—including ones who live in Spain—who praised her response to Motos. One commenter called the comedian "one of the worst hosts [they] have ever seen .... in many cases offensive and disrespectful towards guests." Another wrote, "Good thing you finally put that character in his place!!! So much elegance, so much truth!!!" One follower commented, "He was coming for you and you beat him."
Vergara has addressed her accented English and why she thought it might hold her back in Hollywood. When she accepted the award for Favorite Comedic TV Actress at the People's Choice Awards in 2017, she said, "I never in a million years thought that with this ridiculous accent I was ever going to be able to be a part of something so successful, something so loved by all of you like Modern Family."
The Hot Pursuit star has also joked about it as well. Ellen DeGeneres was accused of offending Vergara when she appeared on her daytime show, but, Vergara defended the host on X (formerly Twitter). In 2020, she reposted a clip from the show and wrote, "Two comedians having fun with each other to entertain. I was never a victim guys, I was always in on the joke."
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