Selena Gomez Details Embarrassment After No Longer Having a "Teenager's Body"

Selena Gomez shared how she endured body shaming after having a kidney transplant in 2017 due to Lupus, recalling no longer being able to fit into sample sizes and being trolled online.

By Alexandra Bellusci Oct 05, 2023 8:25 PMTags
Watch: Selena Gomez Talks Feeling “Embarrassed” Over Her Body

Selena Gomez is losing the outside noise and loving herself.

The "Calm Down" singer recently reflected on dealing with critics commenting on her body online in 2017 as she privately battled Lupus and ultimately needed a kidney transplant.

"None of the sample sizes were fitting, and that would make me feel embarrassed," Selena explained to Fast Company in an interview published Oct. 3. "Although how unrealistic is it to expect a normal woman's body not to change?" 

The 31-year-old added that it was coming at a time when she no longer had a "teenager's body."

But a physical change wasn't the only hardship she was enduring at the time. Looking back at her highly-publicized 2018 breakup with Justin Bieber, the "Wolves" artist noted she started comparing herself on social media.

"I had just gotten my heart broken. I didn't need to see what everyone was doing," Selena, who dated Justin on and off for eight years, recalled. "Then there were those moments of not feeling positive about how I looked because of what I'd see on Instagram. 'Wow, I wish my body looked like that.'"

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Selena Gomez Through the Years

But just because the singer was logged off—handing off her social media passwords to an assistant—didn't mean the internet trolls backed down. In fact, at the time, paparazzi snapped photos of Selena on an Australia getaway—donning a bikini with her transplant scar visible—leading some users to tear apart her appearance.

Which led the Only Murders in the Building star to get back on Instagram and tell everyone to calm down. 

"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," she posted in 2018 . "I chose to take care of myself because I want to, not to prove anything to anyone. Wind in her sails."

Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Rare Impact Fund

But shutting down haters isn't a rare move for Selena. In fact, back in February she shared an important message about self-love after discussions about her body once again hit the internet.

The Rare Beauty founder explained that she tends to "hold a lot of water weight" while on her medication. "And that happens very normally," she told TikTok viewers. "And then when I'm off of it I tend to kind of lose weight."

Leaving followers with some wise words of advice, Selena said: "I just want people to know that you're beautiful and you're wonderful. And yeah we have days where maybe we feel like s--t 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. So, yeah, not a model, never will be. And I think they're awesome, mind you, I just, I'm definitely not that." 

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