Selena Gomez Opened Up About Gaining Weight from Her Lupus Medication

Selena Gomez is getting real about how her lupus diagnosis has affected her body. 

On Thursday, the actress-slash-singer revealed that her medication for the autoimmune condition has caused her to gain weight during a TikTok livestream. Addressing comments about her appearance, Selena, who has long been the target of body-shamers, explained that while taking the medication is helpful, it does have its side effects.

"[When I'm taking it, I] tend to hold a lot of water weight, and that happens very normally. When I'm off of it, I tend to lose weight," Gomez said in the video. "I just wanted to say and encourage anyone out there who feels any sort of shame for exactly what they're going through, and no one knows the real story." Selena continued, "I just want people to know that you're beautiful, and you're wonderful. Yeah, we have days where maybe we feel like shit, but I would rather be healthy and take care of myself. My medications are important, and I believe that they're what helps me."

"Not a model, never will be. And I think they're awesome, mind you. I'm just definitely not that," she added. "I just wanted to tell you I love you guys, and thanks for supporting me and understanding. And if not, go away, 'cause honestly I don't believe in shaming people for [their bodies] or anything."

Selena's candid livestream came just days after she revealed that trolls were the reason that she didn't manage her social media accounts for years while speaking with Vanity Fair. "People can call me ugly or stupid and I’m like, 'Whatever.' But these people get detailed. They write paragraphs that are so specific and mean," Selena told the magazine. "I would constantly be crying. I constantly had anxiety … I couldn’t do it anymore. It was a waste of my time." 

She added, "The world was my high school for the longest time, and I started getting inundated with information that I didn’t want."

And although Selena is back online now, she's still protective of her mental health. "I created a system," she said. "Everything I do I send to my assistant who posts them. As far as comments, my team will put together a few things that are encouraging."