selena gomez
Photo by Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein /WireImage

Hey Selena Gomez, is Everything OK?

Selena Gomez has had quite the year. Within the span of 12 months, the 25-year-old songstress released four new singles, went through a new relationship, a breakup, a rekindling with a former flame and a life-saving kidney transplant. And being the most followed person on Instagram, all of this news was, of course, reported on and scrutinized very publicly.

From her numerous interviews, speeches and posts on social media, it seemed as though Gomez was handling it all very well, with the “Bad Liar” singer even telling Billboard magazine, “I’m really proud of where I am right now. I handle things in a healthy way.” She even said her breakup with The Weeknd was amicable, revealing “We ended it as best friends, and it was genuinely about encouraging and caring [for each other].”

But it was Selena’s appearance at the 2017 American Music Awards, that sparked some concern among fans that something was amiss with the former Disney star. The awards show has historically been a place where Gomez has been most vulnerable — from her raw performance of “The Heart Wants What it Wants” in 2014 to her emotional acceptance speech in 2016 — and many expected this year’s AMAs to be another “comeback” of sorts for Gomez, especially post-surgery and breakup.

It started off well, with Selena debuting a platinum blonde ‘do, which, as we know, is “a direct route to abandoning one’s former self and making that intention obvious.” But when she went on stage to perform her latest single with DJ-of-the-moment, Marshmello, something seemed off. She looked sad, lost and many even accused her of lip syncing throughout. And then, there was this look of disappointment on her own face, when she thanked the audience after she had finished:

GIF selena gomez american music awards 2017

Since the AMAs, Selena has been making plenty of public appearances — she spoke at the Lupus Research Alliance’s Breaking Through Gala, was honoured as Billboard‘s Woman of the Year at the publication’s annual Women in Music dinner and hit the red carpet for the 2017 British Fashion Awards. But again, there seems to be a sort of sadness behind Gomez’s Hung Vanngo-painted face and platinum ‘do.

More concern was sparked Tuesday, however, when Selena made her Instagram account private — a bold move for, as we said, the most followed person on the social media platform. It is being speculated the “Wolves” singer went private because she is angry about her Billboard cover story.

According to some fans, Selena posted this now-deleted message on her Instagram Stories overnight: “Never will I let another human guess my words ever again. Or invite them in my home. That is so hurtful. The most ‘ridiculous’ part of that is no one knowing my heart when I say things.” In the background, was an excerpt from Selena’s Billboard story, where she talks about a five-foot teddy bear sitting on her kitchen floor. “It was a gift, and at first I thought, ‘This is so ridiculous, I can’t wait until I give it away to another person,'” she apparently told the magazine.

 

She also posted a video to her Instagram Stories where she looks rather sad, and wrote, “I need some alone time.” It, too, has been deleted.

Given Selena has suffered from depression and anxiety in the past, there is reason for fans to be concerned. Like we said, it’s been a tumultuous year, especially for a young woman whose every move is so closely followed and judged in the public eye.

All we can say is, we hope Selena is OK and gets the alone time she needs.

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