CELEBRITIES
Selena Gomez on how it really felt to be body-shamed
The singer opened up about how much the negative comments really affected her.
Selena Gomez has come clean about how it really felt to be body-shamed, despite putting on a brave face. In AppleTV+’s docuseries ‘Dear…’, the singer opened up about the negative comments she read and how badly they affected her.
She admits that she didn’t allow herself to outwardly express how much the comments hurt her, and wanted to be a positive role model for her fans.
“I think when you sign up for Disney, you are acknowledging that you are a role model for children,” the ‘Good For You’ singer said in the episode, acknowledging how her Disney past has continued to contribute to the way she navigates her relationship with her fans.
Selena Gomez tried to be a positive role model
Gomez has been vocal about standing up to body shamers, regularly firing back against them. Back in January, the singer hosted an Instagram live with her little sister, Gracie, where she faced a series of harsh comments on her appearance and weight gain, causing her to immediately respond live.
“I’m a little bit big right now because I enjoyed myself during the holidays,” she said in the live.
“But we don’t care,” she added with the two sisters laughing.
The singer also began tagging her Instagram selfies with body positivity, using hashtags like #moretolove. She also once took to TikTok to speak on how frustrating it is to fit into an ideal body type, admitting she “tried to be skinny” before saying “I’m perfect the way I am.”
How body shamers affected her
“I lied. I would go online and I would post a picture and I would say, ‘It doesn’t matter. I’m not accepting what you’re saying,” the singer said in ‘Dear…’
She went on to say that she would post body-positive content and shut down negative comments, while in actuality, she would cry after reading negative comments.
“I was posting these things saying it doesn’t bother me because I didn’t want it to bother other people who are experiencing the same thing,” she continued.
“Getting shamed for what they look like, who they are, who they love, I just think it’s so unfair....I don’t think that anybody deserves less than.”
She reiterated that her ongoing battle with lupus has been contributing to her weight gain, particularly the medication she takes, which affects her weight, either causing her to gain it or lose it.
“When I’m taking it, I tend to hold a lot of water weight, and that happens very normally. When I’m off of it, I tend to kind of lose weight,” she explained at the time, adding that she’s “Not a model, never will be,” in a TikTok live.