In another installment of “She Shouldn’t Have to Do This,” Selena Gomez went on TikTok Live this week to push back at the body-shamers questioning her recent appearance and encourage fans to love themselves.
The singer and actor recently appeared at the Golden Globes and on the cover of Vanity Fair’s “Hollywood Issue,” and because we live in a society where people are still openly debating women’s bodies, she became a target of body-shamers. This, unfortunately, is a regular occurrence for Gomez, so she took it all in stride, choosing to respond in a TikTok Live session with her fans. “I just wanted to say and encourage anyone out there who feels any sort of shame for exactly what they’re going through and nobody knows the real story. I just want people to know that you’re beautiful and you’re wonderful,” she said in a clip that was later posted to Twitter.
Gomez, who has been open about her lupus and her bipolar-disorder diagnosis, explained that her weight fluctuates depending on her medications, saying, “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.” And she’s not going to put the opinions of body-shamers over her health: “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.”
She attempted to continue but was interrupted by fans putting filters on her video — like one of a cowboy hat and mustache that was clearly not matching the vibe. Really, she shouldn’t have to make a video responding to body-shamers, and she certainly shouldn’t have to do it with a mustache filter getting in the way of her message. Eventually, she’d had it with the filters and said good-bye. “This is getting a little too … much,” she said, blocking the filters by putting a hand over her face. “I just wanted to tell you I love you guys, and thanks for supporting me.”
This isn’t the first time Gomez has responded to body-shamers on TikTok. Last year, she proudly shared her Jack in the Box order. “I don’t care about my weight because people bitch about it anyways,” she said. “‘You’re too small,’ ‘You’re too big,’ ‘That doesn’t fit.’ Bitch, I am perfect the way I am,” she said. No filters needed.