"From my perspective, it's wild..." – Selena Gomez on women facing harsher scrutiny on social media

Pop star and actress Selena Gomez recently addressed the unsympathetic attention women receive on social media. While speaking to life coach Jay Shetty on his On Purpose podcast with her fiancé, the songwriter and producer, Benny Blanco, Gomez brought attention to how social media is especially harsher towards women.

In the podcast episode released on March 24, 2025, Blanco, who got engaged to Gomez in December 2024, spoke about distancing himself from worrying about public opinions and comments on social media as a public figure. For Gomez, however, the experience of dealing with commentary on social media has been quite different. She explained,

“I was basically also going to point out that women have it much harder…From my perspective, it’s, it’s pretty wild and I think this isn't news to anybody that obviously women have a lot more intense feelings from their appearance to you know what they are wearing to everything.”

Continuing, she shared that women face a lot more negativity online. Gomez said,

“And I'm saying this is to me when I get prepared for an event 90% of the time I'm just like I just hope I can take the picture and sit down. It’s the character that gets judged it's the way I'm not white enough I'm not Mexican enough. I’m, I don't know, there's just these so many different things that come up in in my face that I can't help but see.”

Referring to Blanca’s earlier statement when he said that he avoids looking at the comments sections, Gomez said,

“I fall victim to like looking at things and it really, it doesn't add to your life but it's just so difficult from the choices of, you know, the people you date. It’s like nobody cares about those kind of things with men, they're just like, ‘yeah, they they did that, they said that, they, you know, they did this,’ and so I think we just carry a lot.”

Selena Gomez also went on to address social media opinions on her weight. She said,

“Yeah my weight's a big one too everyone just has something to say and it's really making me sad and not even sad, ‘cause you know what, now I'm not a victim everyone, I just think it's made me a tad bitter and feel really guilty for saying that, but it’s true.”

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Selena Gomez’s health struggles

The Only Murders in the Building star suffers from lupus, an autoimmune disease. The medications that she takes for treatment cause Selena Gomez’s weight to fluctuate. The singer had addressed concerns related to her weight previously when she spoke on a TikTok live stream, reshared on X. She explained at the time that the medications make her body retain water weight, and when she is not on the medicine, she tends to lose that weight. She further shared,

“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 so I just want people to know that you’re beautiful and you’re wonderful.”

In 2015, Selena Gomez revealed her lupus diagnosis to the media for the first time in a report by Billboard. While detailing her difficult journey with the disease, which involved chemotherapy, she slammed everyone who falsely generated addiction speculation around the break the artist had taken for medical reasons. She told Billboard,

“I wanted so badly to say, ‘You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy. You’re a—holes.’ I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again.”

Gomez even had to undergo a kidney transplant in 2017 because of lupus. The musician announced the news in an Instagram post while paying tribute to her friend and fellow actress, Francia Raisa, who donated the kidney.

Gomez has been candid about taking frequent breaks from social media, which, as she revealed to Vanity Fair, she uses to take care of herself.

In the face of the immense health struggles that Selena Gomez continues to face, her words about the treatment of women on social media resonate greatly. Despite becoming an object of disrespectful speculation while undergoing pain and treatment, Gomez remains optimistic about her career and opened up to Jay Shetty about one day having a big family with Blanco.