Over the past few weeks, Selena Gomez has been opening up about the various struggles of her life. The singer has spoken about social media’s impact on her life, her mental health struggle and penned two songs hinting at her break up with Justin Beiber. Now, the singer is opening up about the impact of body-shaming had on her. The singer recalled being a target of body-shaming while she tackled fluctuating weight during her battle with Lupus. The singer sat down with her friend, Raquelle Stevens, on an episode of Giving Back Generation, and shared her thoughts.
She remembered coming across comments about her changing weight on social media and reveals it had disturbed her. The Lose You To Love Me singer revealed that the comments messed her up badly. “I experienced [body-shaming] with my weight fluctuation for the first time,” Gomez told her friends. “I have lupus and deal with kidney issues and high blood pressure, so I deal with a lot of health issues, and for me that’s when I really started noticing more of the body image stuff.”
She explained that though the disease doesn’t directly impact the weight, it is a “combination” of different factors that led to a change in her health. “It’s the medication I have to take for the rest of my life—it depends on even the month, to be honest. So for me, I really noticed when people started attacking me for that. In reality, that’s just my truth. I fluctuate. It depends what’s happening in my life,” she explained.
Being mocked during an already stressful period took a toll on Selena. “[It] really messed me up for a bit,” she said. This could be one of the reasons Selena chose to stay away from social media and focus on her health over the last year. She says she doesn’t have the urge to share everything on social media. “I don’t care to expose myself to everyone and hear what they have to say about it,” she said. “Treat other people the way you wish you were treated,” she added.