Selena Shared How Her Lupus Medication Affects Her Weight In Response To Body-Shamers
“I would much rather be healthy and take care of myself.”
Selena Gomez had something to say to any body-shamers making cruel remarks about her appearance. The singer got real about how the medication she takes to treat her lupus causes her weight to fluctuate, informing viewers on TikTok that she won’t let rude comments prevent her from staying healthy and happy. The full TikTok message shed a lot of light on Gomez’s mindset, and quieted the body-shamers as Gomez’s fans applauded the star’s openness.
It’s no secret Gomez has been dealing with a lot of cruelty in the beginning of 2023. After the Golden Globes in January, Gomez laughed off rude comments about her body in a viral video with her sister, Gracie. But it’s not always so easy to let the hate roll off your back. On Feb. 16, Gomez went live on TikTok to explain how her body naturally changes due to her lupus medication. In the video, Gomez said she when she’s taking her 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 lose weight.”
“I would much rather be healthy and take care of myself, and my medications are important and I believe that they are what helps me,” Gomez continued. “So yeah, not a model; never will be. And I think they’re awesome, mind you, but I’m definitely not that.”
She ended the live video by thanking her fans and telling body-shamers to leave her alone: “Thanks for supporting me and understanding. And if not, go away. Because honestly, I don’t believe in shaming people for their body or anything.”
Gomez has spoken candidly about how her lupus treatment has affected her body image in the past, most notably on a 2019 episode of the Giving Back Generation 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,” she said. “I really started to notice when people started attacking me for that... And in reality, that’s just my truth, I fluctuate... It’s the medication that I have to take for the rest of my life, it depends even on the month, to be honest.”
“That got to me big time,” Gomez admitted, referring to random comments about her body. “I think for me, that really messed me up for a bit.”
