Selena Gomez has always been open and honest about her health struggles over the years.
In 2015 Selena revealed that contrary to widespread media reports, she wasn't in rehab but taking time out of the public eye to undergo chemotherapy for Lupus.
Then, in 2017, Selena announced on Instagram that she'd undergone a kidney transplant as part of her treatment for the illness.
Now, Selena has opened up about the experience of being body-shamed on social media after gaining weight from the Lupus medication she has to take daily.
The body-shaming began in March 2018 when Selena was photographed in a bikini while on vacation. Countless people took to social media and called her "fat".
In fact, shortly after the photos went viral Selena, shared another Instagram post with a caption appearing to indirectly address the body-shaming.
View this photo on Instagram
She wrote: "The beauty myth- an obsession with physical perfection that traps modern woman in an endless cycle of hopelessness, self consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfil society’s impossible definition of flawless beauty. I chose to take care of myself because I want to, not to prove anything to anyone.
Wind in her sails. 🌈💜"
Well, speaking on the Giving Back Generation vodcast, Selena has now revealed that the experience "messed [her] up".
"I experienced body image [issues] with my weight fluctuation for the first time," Selena said. "I have Lupus and deal with kidney issues and high blood pressure, so I deal with a lot of health issues. For me that's when I really started noticing more of the body image stuff."
She went on to explain her Lupus medication causes her weight to fluctuate, and said it was hurtful to be "attacked" for something so out of her control.
View this photo on Instagram
"It's the medication I have to take for the rest of my life," she explained. "It depends on the month, to be honest. I really noticed when people started attacking me for that."
She added: "In reality, that’s just my truth. I fluctuate. It depends what's happening in my life, it's out of my control and that got to me big time. I think for me, that really messed me up for a bit."
And Selena went on to explain how the experience caused her to re-evulate her relationship with social media.
View this photo on Instagram
She said: "I see so many beautiful girls and amazing different characters and then they're just demolished by an image they're trying to chase. They're wanting to be a completely different person, but that's not what's inside of them ... I get it. I look at other people's pages — or, I used to — and I'm like, OK, I need to fix myself."
