Selena Gomez reflected on her lupus diagnosis and being the subject of body-shaming comments through the years.
For context, Selena was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 2014, ultimately undergoing a kidney transplant three years later.
She started facing body-shaming for gaining weight in the years that followed, such as one incident in 2018 when paparazzi photos of her in a bikini were published — leading her to nod to the comments with an Instagram post that read, "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 fulfill society’s impossible definition of flawless beauty. I chose to take care of myself because I want to, not to prove anything to anyone."
Speaking in a new episode of the Apple TV+ series Dear..., Selena began by saying how she was first diagnosed after she went to an appointment with an eye doctor — only to be told that her blood pressure was so high, she had to go to the emergency room.
"It was just my body fighting itself on the inside. That was the most surreal part, because I never felt fatigue; I was young, I felt completely fine. So hearing from a doctor, 'You could have had a stroke onstage, you could have died' — it was a lot. But I didn't allow it to sink in; I didn't want to process it," she explained.
"My weight would constantly fluctuate because I would be on certain medications. And obviously, people just ran with it. It was like they couldn't wait to find a thing to bring me down. I was being shamed for gaining weight because of my lupus."
When it came to posting about her body on social media during this time, Selena continued, "I lied. I would go online and I would post a picture of myself and say [the negative comments] don't matter, I'm not accepting what you're saying — all the while being in the room posting that, crying my eyes out, because nobody deserves to hear those things."
She added, "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 — 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 to feel less than."
Selena previously addressed speculation around her weight gain earlier this year in a TikTok Live. “My medications are important, and I believe they are what helps me,” she said, looking emotional. “Not a model, never will be.”
