Selena Gomez Says Body-Shamers ‘Attacking’ Her Weight Gain Amid Lupus Battle ‘Really Messed Me up for a Bit’

Selena Gomez has been dealing with a number of health issues in recent years including being diagnosed with lupus, and the star opened up about the body-shaming she received in the midst of her struggles while speaking with her friend Raquelle Stevens for an episode of Stevens’ video podcast, Giving Back Generation.

“I experienced [body-shaming] with my weight fluctuation for the first time,” Gomez said on the podcast. “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.”

The 27-year-old explained that her lupus didn’t directly cause weight gain, rather that it is “the combination of all of it.”

“It’s the medication I have to take for the rest of my life — it depends on even the month, to be honest,” she said. “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. Right [it’s totally out of my control], and that got to me big time. I think for me, that really messed me up for a bit.”

Gomez further shared that she doesn’t want to live her life in the spotlight any more than she has to.

“I’m very happy with living my life. We were talking about it earlier, being in the present because that’s it,” she said. “Similar to me posting a photo then walking away, for me that’s it. I’ll do a red carpet, I’ll do whatever, I don’t need to see it. I did it. I participated. I felt wonderful and that’s where the extent of it is. I don’t care to expose myself to everyone and hear what they have to say about it.”

Going through hard times has taught Gomez a number of lessons, including her “biggest lesson,” which is “how to learn [with] the people that have hurt me the most, to forgive them, to continue to understand and have compassion for people.”

“There’s a part of me that has had to have a dialogue with myself that a lot of things have happened to me, but I feel personally that I went through all of it and will continue to go through hardships in my life for the sake of connection,” she continued. “I love my job. I work as hard as I can. I’m always on time. I appreciate what I do but the reason I get out of situations is because it’s meant for other people…it’s important to try to have that dialogue in my head. Sometimes it’s like, ‘Why is this happening to me? Please!’”

Photo Credit: Getty / Michael Tran