10 times Selena Gomez was accused of playing the victim card
Selena Gomez has often been cast as the victim by either herself or her fans
Selena Gomez broke her silence on the Israel-Hamas war but fans have accused her of "playing victim." Recently, the songstress shared a post on Instagram voicing her desire to be away from social media as she is finding it very difficult to navigate through the news of the atrocities of war. But she was instantly slammed online for making it all about her, once again. However, this is not the first time Selena Gomez has been accused of playing the victim card.
Selena Gomez claimed she was 'victim to certain abuse' while dating Justin Bieber
Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber were in a relationship from 2011 to 2014 following which they broke up and were in an on-and-off relationship till 2018. In 2020, the Rare Beauty founder shared with the NPR, “It’s dangerous to stay in a victim mentality. And I’m not being disrespectful, I do feel I was a victim to certain abuse.” Terming it as "emotional abuse," she said, "Yes, and I think that it's something that ... I had to find a way to understand it as an adult," per Entertainment Tonight. However, there were fans who did not like her speaking about her relationship with Bieber in such terms.
Selena Gomez and the eyebrow lamination fiasco
The early months of 2023 witnessed a social media drama involving the 'Rare' singer, Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner. It all started with one of Selena's TikTok post where she shared a closeup of her eyebrows saying she “laminated her brows too much." Scandal brewed when her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber's wife Hailey shared a screengrab of her FaceTime with Kylie Jenner where they had close-ups of their own eyebrows, which she captioned, “This was an accident???” Selenators castigated the duo alleging they were trying to shade 'victim' Selena. It got so bad that the singer had to step in to urge her fans to stop trolling Hailey. Following the drama, Selena launched an eyebrow gel in her beauty line Rare Beauty, per InStyle.
Selena Gomez and and Francia Raisa quarrel
A tiff between the two former best friends brewed when Selena said in a 2022 interview that her “only” friend in Hollywood is Taylor Swift. Francia Raisa, Selena's kidney donor in 2017 and once dubbed her "best friend," commented, "Interesting," and unfollowed the Grammy winning singer. Selena later, however, said, "Sorry I didn't mention every person I know,” which created a huge controversy. When Raisa was asked by TMZ in May about the fight, she refrained from speaking about their equation. She mentioned that she could help people with organ donation as she has past experience with it but she "clearly" doesn't "advocate it," which made her subject to hate comments by the singer's fans.
Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber's lip sync video
On January 7, 2023 a TikTok user shared a recording of a TikTok video by Haily Bieber where the 'Rhode' Beauty founder, along with her friends Kendall Jenner and Justine Skye, lip-synced to a viral audio saying, “I’m not saying she deserves it, but God’s timing is always right.” However, they didn't mention Selena's name, and Bieber also clarified, "It's not directed at anyone." But Selenators thought otherwise. Fans speculated they were cheering on body shamers who went after Selena for looking less than perfect in a bikini, after a TikTok video touting the theory went viral with the caption, “That whole BALDWIN clan needs to go." The 'Calm Down' singer replied in the comment section, “It’s ok! I don’t let these things get me down! Be nice to everyone! x,” per Vulture.
Selena Gomez defends Taylor Swift
In February 2023, a footage of Hailey, apparently gagging at the mention of Taylor Swift, went viral. The footage shared on February 23 was from 'Drop the Mic', a podcast that Hailey co-hosted with Method Man with rap battles that had “some of the meanest lyrics about a celebrity." Since Swift's name was introduced as a part of this rap battle, it elicited the mock reaction from Bieber. The footage was shared in a TikTok that claimed Hailey is a "mean girl," and Selena comments underneath “So sorry, my best friend is and continues to be one of the best in the game."
Selena Gomez said she was 'taking a second from social media'
Selena's break from social media following her post on the Israel war is not the only time she went on a social media hiatus. Following back to back dramas in January and February, she announced on the same day as her comment regarding Taylor Swift, the 'Ice Cream' singer said in a video, “I’m gonna be taking a second from social media cause this is a little silly and I’m 30. I’m too old for this.” Her comment created a ripple across the web, per Pop Crave.
Selena explains she gained weight because of her lupus medication
Selena has time and again said that her weight increased because of her lupus medication. In February 2023, she opened up about the comments about her weight. She explained that she tends to “hold a lot of water weight," whenever she is on her lupus medication, adding, "I just wanted to say and encourage anyone out there who feels any sort of shame for exactly what they're going through and nobody knows the real story. I just want people to know that you're beautiful." She also added, “Thanks for supporting me and understanding,” she said. “If not, go away. ‘Cause honestly, I don’t believe in shaming people for [their] body or anything," per BuzzFeed News.
Selena Gomez opened up about her mental health issues
“My self-esteem was shot,” Selena opened up about her 2017 struggle with her mental health. “I was depressed, anxious. I started to have panic attacks right before getting on stage, or right after leaving the stage," per Vogue. Gomez has talked about her struggle with depression and mental health multiple times, often garnering sympathy from her fans.
Francia Raisa was 'ambushed' into agreeing to organ donation
When Raisa found out she was a match, she did not get the news from the doctors. Doctors told Selena first and fans were of the opinion that Raisa was "ambushed" into taking the organ donation decision. In an interview, Raisa said, “I had a way that I wanted to tell her, when I’d made the decision.” But, it didn't pan out that way. Since Selena was suffering from lupus, she was accused of playing the victim card to get Raisa to agree, per BuzzFeed News.
Selena Gomez's view on the Israel Hamas War
Selena Gomez has been criticized by her fans after she shared a post on her Instagram story saying "I've been taking a break from social media because my heart breaks to see all of the horror, hate, and terror that's going on in the world. People being tortured and killed or any act of hate towards any one group is horrific." However, several fans slammed her saying, "She is always the victim," per Blast.