Selena Gomez said negative remarks about her weight continue to "sting," and described how therapy and past health struggles have shaped her relationship with her body and public life in a wide‑ranging Allure cover story.
The 33‑year‑old singer and actor told the magazine that comments about her weight have always been particularly painful. "I got stung by a person saying I was fat. Why is that [emotion] coming up?" Gomez said, adding that dialectical behavior therapy, or DBT, helped her trace those reactions to periods when medical treatments caused her weight to fluctuate.
Gomez, founder of the cosmetics company Rare Beauty, also discussed longstanding health issues, including a lupus diagnosis that led to chemotherapy in 2013 and a kidney transplant in 2017. She has spoken previously about her bipolar disorder in the 2022 documentary My Mind & Me, and told Allure she cannot watch that film now because she has moved past that chapter in some ways.
"I deal with a lot of [dexterity issues] myself, and it can get frustrating," she said, describing lingering physical effects of her health history. "Even just popping open a can can hurt."
On the subject of social media and public scrutiny, Gomez said she takes regular breaks from Instagram and aims to be present in the moments she has. She noted that she is among the most‑followed people on the platform and that stepping away helps her maintain perspective. "I finally feel like I'm in a place where I don't need to be apologetic for every single thing that I do," she said.
Gomez described how earlier in her career she often hid her pain behind confident posts. In the Allure interview she recalled posting images online while privately "crying my eyes out" after being shamed for weight gain that she said was related to medication for her lupus. She said part of her work in therapy involved understanding why those early experiences left a lasting emotional imprint.
She also spoke about her relationship with producer Benny Blanco, 36, saying that timing and maturity were important for both of them. "I don't think I would have been remotely mature enough," Gomez said, reflecting on how she would have handled a similar relationship five years earlier. She described Blanco as "one of the most grounding people in my life, and he makes me feel very normal," and said the couple sometimes lament the time they feel they lost before being together.
Gomez has previously confronted public commentary about her body, including pushing back after the 2023 Golden Globes and arguing in social posts that people should not be shamed for how they look. In a 2018 post she addressed what she called "the beauty myth," saying she chose to care for herself for her own reasons rather than to prove anything.
The Allure interview adds to a series of public conversations in which Gomez has discussed health, mental health and the pressures of celebrity. Her remarks come as debates continue over how public scrutiny affects entertainers, particularly women, and follow her ongoing efforts to speak about and destigmatize mental and physical health challenges through her work and public statements.
In the interview, Gomez emphasized the work involved in healing and self‑understanding, saying that growth requires sustained effort. "You just definitely have to be willing to do the work, and that part can be tricky," she said, framing her experience as a combination of therapy, self‑reflection and changes in how she manages public life.