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Selena Gomez opened up to Vanity Fair about more than her upcoming film and music projects for its Hollywood Issue. The Only Murders in the Building star also addressed head-on what led her to get off of very social media platform except TikTok: She revealed that hateful comments comparing her to her ex-boyfriend’s new partner(s) really ate at her. While Gomez didn’t name names, she and ex Justin Bieber’s wife Hailey Bieber have been vocal about how comments pitting them against each other have really hurt them over the years.
Gomez once again called for her fans to stop attacking Hailey late last year, and the two women nearly broke the internet when they posed together at a fall event to show the world they are on good terms.
On her current relationship with social media, Gomez explained to Vanity Fair, “I never got the chance to go to an actual high school. The world was my high school for the longest time, and I started getting inundated with information that I didn’t want. I went through a hard time in a breakup and I didn’t want to see any of the [feedback]—not necessarily about the relationship, but the opinions of me versus [someone] else. There’d be thousands of really nice comments, but my mind goes straight to the mean one.”
“People can call me ugly or stupid and I’m like, Whatever. But these people get detailed,” she continued. “They write paragraphs that are so specific and mean. I would constantly be crying. I constantly had anxiety…I couldn’t do it anymore. It was a waste of my time.”
“The only thing I have on my phone is TikTok because I find it to be a little less hostile,” she said. “There are wonderful things about social media—connecting with fans, seeing how happy and excited they are and their stories. But usually that’s filtered through [for me now]. I created a system. Everything I do I send to my assistant who posts them. As far as comments, my team will put together a few things that are encouraging.”
Gomez has engaged a little with the drama on TikTok—usually opting to use her comments to shut it down. Gomez made headlines this weekend, for example, when she commented on a TikTok user discussing a shady video Hailey Bieber posted then took down potentially being about Gomez.
Gomez wrote, “It’s ok! I don’t let these things get me down! Be nice to everyone! x.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
