Selena Gomez has noticed the not-so-nice comments people have been making about her recent weight gain, and in an attempt to clear a few things up, the singer hopped onto TikTok Live to share why her weight has been fluctuating as of late. It’s no secret to fans that Gomez has been battling Lupus — a chronic illness — which causes inflammation and pain in certain parts of the body.
Since Lupus tends to make the body’s immune system attack its own tissues and organs, the “Same Old Love” singer has to regularly take medications to decrease the activity of overactive white blood cells. And while these meds help Gomez’s condition, common side effects include vomiting, headaches, hair loss, scarring, and weight gain. Gomez, who has already struggled to deal with body-shamers in the past, appears to have come across comments about her figure which she addressed in her Live, explaining to people that her medication is causing her to retain a lot of water weight.
it’s so sad how selena gomez has to excuse herself for her gain weight, it’s proving just how the entire internet is evil towards women pic.twitter.com/pjWvzzNuew
— ًlinda (@selsbossanova) February 16, 2023
“When I’m taking it, I tend to hold a lot of water weight, and that happens very normally. When I’m off of it, I tend to kind of lose weight,” she shared. And while a lot of people seem to have had something to say about Gomez’s weight gain, she says that worrying about other people’s thoughts about her body would be ridiculous since prioritizes her health over everything else. “Yeah, we have days where maybe we feel like s–t, but I would much rather be healthy and take care of myself. My medications are important, and I believe that they’re what helps me.”
She further stressed that she’s no model by any means “and never will be,” before thanking the people who have been supportive of her during some of her recent challenging times — especially after social media trolls began targeting her for her fuller figure.
“I love you guys and thanks for supporting me and understanding,” she said. “And if not, go away, because honestly, I don’t believe in shaming people for their body or anything.”
mind you selena gomez has lupus and the medicine she takes causes her to gain weight. you garbz are bullies and its not cute or classy at all.🤦♀️ https://t.co/kookVsGrXU
— 𝕭𝖊𝖑𝖈𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖘 𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖊𝖓𝖎𝖘🫧 (@msbelcalis) January 31, 2023
Gomez was first diagnosed with Lupus back in 2014 before undergoing a kidney transplant with the help of her friend Francis Raisa who donated her kidney after finding out the pair were a match. Gomez needed the surgery in order for her to combat the autoimmune disease, and while her condition is much better than when she was first diagnosed, she clearly still battles some of the not-so-pleasant side effects that come with the medications she’s on and will continue to take for perhaps the rest of her life.