Selena Gomez reveals she underwent chemotherapy to battle lupus
Selena Gomez has been dealing with more for the past couple of years than her fans even realized: Speaking out this week to Billboard, Selena revealed she has lupus — and the condition put her at risk of having a stroke before she started taking better care of herself.
Selena’s revelation comes after a difficult couple of years that began when she canceled her tour in December 2013 and later checked into rehab. At the time, there were various rumors that her relationship with Justin Bieber led to a “meltdown” or she was battling a nasty substance abuse problem. But now Selena says her break was “really about” the medical condition.
“I was diagnosed with lupus, and I’ve been through chemotherapy… I could’ve had a stroke,” the 23-year-old singer said. “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.”
Still, it seems Selena has some pent-up frustration about the lashing she took from some tabloids and haters — who have also gone after her weight gain. (It’s called not being a teenager anymore, ya’ll!) She said of that situation, “I was in a bikini and got publicly ripped for being overweight… That was the first time I’d experienced body shaming like that. I believed some of the words they were saying. When somebody else has your self-esteem in their hands…”
“I’m so f**king nice to everybody, and everyone is so vile to me. I’ve been working since I was 7. I’ve been a UNICEF ambassador since I was 17. It’s so disappointing that I’ve become a tabloid story,” she said. But, to her credit, she managed to spin the negatives into a positive with hew new album, Revival. As she said, “The hate motivated me.”
