2018 is the year for body confidence, and Selena Gomez has joined the movement. After being photographed in a revealing bikini on vacation, she’s received some hateful comments from internet trolls.
Gomez doesn’t have time for body shamers, and she shut them down in the best way. She’s confidently owning her body, including her surgery scars, which she revealed for the first time (page 5). Plus, Gomez’s kidney donor spilled shocking new details we never knew about their surgery (page 6).
1. Gomez rocked a bikini in Sydney
She enjoyed fun in the sun with friends. | Entertainment Tonight via Twitter
While vacationing in Sydney, Australia, Gomez showed off her beach body while rocking a little black and orange two-piece bikini. She was photographed lounging on a yacht in March 2018 with friends, seeming happy, confident, and relaxed.
Gomez’s on-again, off-again boyfriend, Justin Bieber, didn’t join her on her trip down under. According to Entertainment Tonight, Bieber was spotted in Los Angeles on the same weekend.
Next: You won’t believe these comments she received online.
2. She received some body shame
People are coming to her defense. | faroutly via Twitter
Despite looking stunning and confident in her bikini, she found herself being attacked by online body shamers. One Twitter user wrote in a now-deleted comment, “Does any one has explanation for it. Please guy’s don’t get me wrong. @selenagomez looks bit fat in her recent pic in Sydney. But her physique looks splendid in Puma. Why such difference?”
Another criticized, “Is this really selena?? She looks fat and her nose looks weird…”
Gomez’s fans immediately came to her defense. @selenaempower wrote, “lupus makes your body gain and loose weight without you having any control over it besides HER BODY IS AMAZING -selena would be ashamed of you.”
Next: Here’s how Gomez responded.
3. Gomez promoted body positivity in response
The adorable video was all about self love. | Selena Gomez via Instagram
Rather than fighting back at the body shamers directly, Gomez took it as an opportunity to promote body positivity. She posted a video on her Instagram, which showed herself and her friends having fun on their Sydney vacation.
She captioned the post, “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. I chose to take care of myself because I want to, not to prove anything to anyone. Wind in her sails.”
Next: This wasn’t the first time she was body shamed.
4. She’s dealt with body shamers before
She deals with plenty of hate. | Selena Gomez via Instagram
Gomez isn’t a stranger to dealing with body shame. She once wore a pink bikini on a vacation, which sparked “degrading” comments online.
During an appearance on Ellen in 2015, Gomez shared, “It was the first time I’d ever been called fat.” She added, “But it was weird because it’s not just, ‘Oh, she’s fat.’ It’s like, ‘She’s a mess. She’s gone off the deep end. I’m like, ‘Because I’m on a vacation wearing a bathing suit?’”
She admitted that the suit might have been “a little too small,” but she “didn’t care,” according to Newsweek.
Next: She revealed her surgery scars for the first time.
5. Gomez revealed her kidney transplant scars
The scars on her thigh is from complications during surgery. | National Enquirer via Twitter
While stunning in her bikini on her Sydney trip, Gomez didn’t hide the surgery scars from a kidney transplant she received in the summer of 2017 after battling lupus. According to TMZ, the scar on the inside of Gomez’s thigh is the result of complications during her surgery.
“She had complications after she had her kidney transplant,” they explained. “The scar is on the inside of her thigh because an artery broke, so they had to take a vein from her leg and basically create a new artery to stabilize her kidney.”
Next: Gomez’s kidney donor revealed these new details about their surgery.
6. Her complications were reportedly life-threatening
It was a scary time for the friends. | Selena Gomez via Instagram
Francia Raísa, who donated her kidney to Gomez, revealed just how serious the surgery complications were. In a March 2018 interview with W Magazine, Raísa admitted, “Recovery was hard. I didn’t want to eat, I didn’t want to drink anything. Selena did have a complication, too.”
“A few hours after our surgery, I woke up and had a text from her that said, ‘I’m really scared.’ My kidney was very active, and when it turned I broke an artery.” She continued, “They had to take her into emergency surgery and get a vein from her leg and build a new artery to keep my kidney in place. She could have died.”
Next: Here’s how Raísa is following in Gomez’s footsteps.
7. Raísa and Gomez are owning their scars
The whole ordeal was difficult for the friends, but they came out stronger. | Francia Raísa via Instagram
Raísa is clearly following down Gomez’s path to body confidence. Reflecting Gomez’s sentiment in her body-positive Instagram post, Raísa explained in an interview with SELF, “My scars do not define me.”
She continued, “My scars tell my story. And so I really appreciate these scars because they honestly changed my life — not just, you know, because of Selena, just me, personally, life came into perspective. I learned a lot.”
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