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Selena Gomez recently responded strongly to online body-shaming after her appearance at the premiere of Emilia Pérez at the American French Film Festival in Los Angeles. Gomez has never hesitated to address misconceptions regarding her body. Diagnosed with lupus in 2013 and undergoing a kidney transplant in 2017, the singer and actress has frequently highlighted her health journey, especially its impact on her appearance.
Photos from the event showed Gomez in a black Carolina Herrera dress, elegantly styled with a side slit and diamond drop earrings. However, some social media users speculated about her appearance, claiming she was hiding her body by placing her hands over her stomach.
Responding to these remarks on TikTok—before the post was deleted—Gomez made it clear that her pose was not intended to conceal her body but was due to a flare-up of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), a condition that causes bloating and abdominal pain. "This makes me sick," she wrote. "I have SIBO in my small intestine. It flares up. I don't care that I don't look like a stick figure. I don't have that body. End of story. No I am NOT a victim. I'm just human."
She has previously mentioned her fluctuating weight due to medication, stating, "I tend to hold a lot of water weight... but I would much rather be healthy and take care of myself."
This is not the first time Gomez has faced online body-shaming. In a 2023 episode of the docuseries Dear..., she revealed that hurtful comments once led her to tears. "I would go online... posting and crying my eyes out because nobody deserves to hear those things," she said. In response, Gomez limited Instagram comments to friends only, creating boundaries to protect her mental health.
Alongside her acting and music career, Gomez has embraced her role in Emilia Pérez, where she stars as Jessi Del Monte, a character far removed from her pop star persona. Reflecting on the role, she said, "I knew I had to embody this other person... I couldn't be the pop star—as cheesy as that sounds."
