Can everybody just give Selena Gomez a break?
Either the tabloids are making assumptions about how she's reacting to the news of Justin Bieber and Hailey Baldwin's engagement - spoiler alert: she doesn't care - or they're reducing her charitable efforts to the aforementioned minutiae of her personal life. But regardless, it's clear - in the ephemeral words of Taylor Swift - that this is a narrative Selena would "very much like to be excluded from".
While Selena has remained tight-lipped on all things Justin and Hailey, she did clap back at Stefano Gabbana during New York Fashion Week, in what has to be the sartorial statement of the season.
Back in June, Stefano, who is one half of Dolce and Gabbana, commented "È proprio brutta" (which translates to "she's so ugly") on a photo of Selena Gomez on Instagram, and as you can imagine, it caused quite the ruckus on social media.
The remark - which was extremely rude, unnecessary and not to mention untrue - did not illicit a response from Selena at the time, with her mother, Mandy Teefey, telling People that they "ignore" these kinds of hateful comments.
But now, the singer has just stepped out in what must be a response to the designer's comment: a hair clip that spells out "UGLY" in giant, diamond-encrusted letters.
Selena has previously taken to social media to address beauty standards and her decision to put self-care ahead of anything else. "The beauty myth- an obsession with physical perfection that traps modern woman in an endless cycle of hopelessness, self consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society’s impossible definition of flawless beauty," she wrote on Instagram. "I chose to take care of myself because I want to, not to prove anything to anyone. Wind in her sails."
And just last month, Footwear News released an interview with the 26-year-old where she spoke about the impact that internet trolls have on her. "I feel like I’m one of those people [whose body confidence can be shaken by haters]. I actually am one of those people. I understand and I get what [my followers are] feeling and what they are afraid of."
Selena, however, then asserted that she chooses to focus on herself, and ignore any chatter that doesn't serve her. "It’s all about how you feel at the end of the day. That’s my approach to myself, seeing it’s not okay that I’m not accepted, that I’m different from anybody else. It’s okay that I’m not accepted this way. It’s okay that I’m nice and not intense. I don’t really care [about the trolls]. I have to express my message to myself more than my fans. I would say [to my fans] that 'I get it, I’m like you.'"
Well, that's certainly one way to make a statement - good on you, Selena!
