Selena Gomez knows her health is more important than Internet body-shaming

When a woman regularly has to publicly defend herself from body-shamers, it’s clear that the Internet has officially taken things about several trillion steps too far. And yet that’s exactly where we’re at, with Selena Gomez having to do just that. Yes, in 2023. Pause for deep breaths to calm the fury.

Of course (horrifyingly), faceless trolls weighing in on women’s bodies is hardly anything new. It’s been an issue since the Internet’s inception, and honestly, it’s a hard one to control. But news flash: it’s on the commenters to control themselves. Forget ‘if you don’t have anything nice to say’, try ‘if you don’t have any right to say anything, don’t’.

It’s disgusting to see this kind of cruel (and genuinely unwarranted) commentary surrounding anyone’s physical appearance, but considering Gomez has been transparent about her Lupus journey and the autoimmune disease’s effects on her body, this instance hits extra hard.

The singer, actress, and Rare Beauty founder took to a TikTok live to address the topic, something she should never, ever have felt forced to do. And luckily, she was confident in stating that believe it or not, her health is more important to her than what strangers think of her body on any given day.

“[When I’m taking my medication], I tend to hold a lot of water weight, and that happens very normally, and then when I’m off of it, I tend to kind of lose weight,” she told viewers. “We have days when we might feel like shit, but I would much rather be healthy and take care of myself. And my medications are important, and I believe they are what helps me.”

But what if she didn’t understand that her health was the priority? What if it were someone less experienced with the pressures of fame? We cannot expect anyone, even a celebrity, to be able to rationally assess something so sensitive and personal.

Gomez has been open in the past about times where she did feel shame about her body, too. She’s done the personal work to stop her own negative self-talk, and yet now she sees the same shaming flooding her comments.

“I just wanted to say and encourage anyone out there who feels any sort of shame for exactly what they’re going through. Nobody knows the real story. I just want people to know that you’re beautiful and you’re wonderful,” she added, proving the incredible progress she’s made. "[I’m] not a model, never will be. And I think they're awesome, mind you. I'm just definitely not that.” Now, Gomez is obviously as gorgeous as any model. However, it all comes back to society’s unrealistic expectations, as well as people’s entitlement to have their say on topics that simply don’t concern them

Gomez did try to continue the conversation, but when fan filters started placing things like cowboy hats and mustaches on her, she decided to cut it short; read the room, guys. “This is getting a little too much,” she explained, trying to block the filters with her hand. “I just wanted to tell you I love you guys, and thanks for supporting me.”

She’s classy and kind through and through, but we genuinely hope her message was heard, and that this is the very last time she has to speak on this.


Main image credit: @rarebeauty

Obsessed with Gomez’s glowy skin? Here’s her skin care routine…