When Selena Gomez stepped onto the pink carpet on the 2025 SAG Awards, her visibly slimmer look sparked a wave of reactions from followers. Many felt betrayed by the bodily transformation of the singer and actress, who has come to be a logo of very normal weight fluctuations and self-acceptance for a lot of—and I feel this sense of betrayal is one thing we have to unpack.
It is easy to grasp why followers would possibly really feel damage or, at the least, conflicted: Selena has been open about her physique picture points up to now, sharing constructive messages about her weight fluctuations because of medicine and slamming commenters who physique disgrace her. In a sea of already-thin A-listers who seem to have grow to be even thinner due to the rise of weight reduction injections like Ozempic, Selena stood out as a determine who usually represented a extra relatable physique kind—a measurement that’s way more frequent inside the normal inhabitants. Her presence felt like a refreshing departure from the more and more homogenous magnificence requirements dominating Hollywood.
Basically, she made many people really feel seen and represented in an area that’s often reserved for ultra-thin ladies. Which is bonkers contemplating she’s at all times been a relatively slim woman, however hey – sadly that’s the food plan culture-steeped world we reside in.
Taking all of this into consideration, it’s comprehensible that followers could really feel a way of loss to see Selena visibly change her look.
It echoes the general public response to Adele’s weight loss again in 2020, too – the singer made headlines the world over for her dramatic transformation and followers, lots of whom had lengthy adored her for embracing her physique and difficult magnificence norms, felt this betrayal deeply. They spoke brazenly in regards to the lack of one other plus measurement icon to the grip of Hollywood magnificence requirements. The identical occurred final 12 months with Kelly Clarkson, who admitted that while she wasn’t on Ozempic, she was taking a medicine that in the end induced vital weight reduction. And with Lizzo. The checklist goes on.
However whereas it’s comprehensible that these emotions exist, it’s essential to acknowledge and discover the complexities behind these ‘transformations’. Finally, celebrities are human, they usually reside beneath the identical societal pressures that we do, however these pressures are magnified by the extraordinary scrutiny that comes with being within the public eye – particularly for ladies. The tradition of physique shaming, unrealistic magnificence requirements and the obsessive concentrate on look is massively heightened for celebrities: Adele’s physique was focused within the press for years, whereas Selena’s physique is regularly being picked apart on social media and in remark sections. What’s extra, on the planet of superstar, look can dictate alternatives, public reception and even profession longevity… Unhappy as it’s, for a lot of celebrities, weight reduction isn’t just a private alternative, however knowledgeable necessity.
We can not fault Selena, Adele, or another superstar for the alternatives they make about their our bodies. If we would like physique neutrality – which I do know I do! – we should given ladies the liberty to make selections about their our bodies with out judgement. This contains recognising their autonomy, particularly after we don’t know the total context of their weight adjustments. Selena, as an example, has been open about her wrestle with lupus, an autoimmune situation that may have an effect on weight. Whereas she hasn’t publicly commented on her weight reduction, it’s essential to not overlook the chance that well being causes could play a task.
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