“My intention was never to become a tabloid,” Selena Gomez tells Amy Schumer in the April 2020 issue of Interview magazine (available on newsstands on Apr. 14 and nationwide Apr. 21). During the conversation, the 27-year-old singer explained why she’s been more vocal about her experiences with love and life. “[It] got out of control. And then I was like, ‘Wait, none of this is true.’ The way the media has sometimes tried to explain things has made it sound really bad, when in reality there’s nothing wrong with the fact that I needed to go away or that I fell in love. I had to start opening up because people were taking away my narrative, and it was killing me. I’m so young, and I’m going to keep changing, and no one has the right to tell me how my life’s going.”
“The sad part is that I don’t remember a time when that wasn’t the case,” said Selena, a woman who has been involved in show business in one way or another for almost two decades. Her first step towards superstardom came in 2002 when she landed the role of Gianna on Barney & Friends. After that, she either been acting (Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, etc.) or singing (with Selena Gomez & the Scene or on her own). Her high-profile romances with Nick Jonas, The Weeknd, and Justin Bieber continued to put her in the spotlight, and her personal life often overshadowed her artistic output.
“What has kept me afloat is that I know eventually it’ll be someone else—and I don’t mean that in a negative way,” she said to Amy, 38. “Sometimes it’s been bad for my career, but other times it’s like, ‘Now I can talk about things like my depression and anxiety, things that I’ve struggled with and which I’m totally open about, because I believe in seeking help.’ But other than that, what keeps me grounded is that I do my best to avoid it. It’s not like I don’t live my life.”
“I’ve gone through some really difficult stuff,” said Selena, “and because of those moments, whether I liked it or not, a picture was painted of my life. That was scary because I didn’t want it to affect my career…I think it showed people that I was weak in certain moments, and that I had troubles. Some people just get off on building people up and then trying to bring them down. … I guess what I mean is that people worry about me because I’ve had some trouble in the past. And it’s kind, it is. But I’m okay. I deal with what I deal with, and if I feel like I’m having a rough week or I’m not up to doing something, I don’t do it.”