The Hollywood Reporter has been hosting its roundtables, which always get interesting groups together to chat. The comedy actress group included Amy Schumer, Bridget Everett, Molly Shannon, Quinta Brunson, Tracee Ellis Ross, and Selena Gomez, and touched upon a range of topics in relation to their careers and womanhood, including appearance, expectations, and sexualization. When Amy brought up Selena’s “over-sexualization at a young age,” Selena talked about appearing nude for an album cover and feeling ashamed of it after.
Selena Gomez is opening up the choices she’s proud of making in her career — and one she regrets.
The Only Murders in the Building star, 29, sat down with Amy Schumer, Bridget Everett, Molly Shannon, Quinta Brunson and Tracee Ellis Ross for The Hollywood Reporter’s comedy actress roundtable, where they chatted about the unique challenges of being a woman in the industry. Schumer pointed out that Gomez, who first appeared on Barney & Friends and later starred on the Disney Channel as a tween, was sexualized at a young age. Calling the situation “unfair,” Gomez spoke about feeling insecure about the creative decisions she made during a photo shoot that ultimately left her feeling oversexualized.
“I actually did an album cover and I was really ashamed after I did it,” the “Hands to Myself” singer explained. “I had to work through those feelings because I realized it was attached to something deeper that was going on. And it was a choice that I wasn’t necessarily happy that I made.”
Gomez — who appeared nude but covered up on the cover of her second studio album, Revival — added that she is “not an overly sexual person.”
“Sometimes I like to feel sexy,” she noted, “but [that] doesn’t mean it’s for somebody else. It could be for me.”
The album cover Selena’s talking about is Revival, which came out in 2015 when she was around 22-23. It’s definitely not graphic as far as nude album covers go, but I do remember raising an eyebrow because the leg placement looked pretty risky for a potential slip. But the album cover didn’t seem unusual then and wouldn’t now if she hadn’t said something. We’ve seen far more risqué and it seemed straight out of the early 20s post-Disney playbook for Selena to be “sexing up” her image. Like, this was after Miley did her whole thing so this cover seemed pretty tame in comparison. It sucks that Selena felt, for whatever reason, that she had to do a cover she wasn’t comfortable with. And it sucks that she felt ashamed after, for doing it and for not holding her boundary. She alludes to those feelings of shame being connected to something else, so it must be more than just the fact of the nudity that she feels regretful about. It’s good that she talked about it and it does seem like she has her image/styling where she wants it these days. And she always looks great. When I saw the headlines about Selena feeling ashamed, I thought she regretted wearing a bindi, but I guess not.
Photos credit: Instar, Getty and via Instagram
I am so impressed with how Selena is maturing and growing as an actress and person in general. As a Disney kid with a formerly problematic ex-boyfriend, it is refreshing to see the professional choices she is making. I haven’t seen the cooking show, but I love “Only Murders in the Building”.
I completely agree. It seemed like she was headed in a very unhealthy direction and seems much more balanced and thoughtful now. I love “Only Murders”, too.
Wasn’t this in the middle of her off/on relationship w/Bieber? I totally get how a 20-something woman trying to figure out her sexuality and attractiveness could end up with regrets.
I think she looks great and she’s in a better place now. I’m rooting for continued growth and success. Can’t wait to watch 2nd season of OMINTB!
She’s doing good work and making good choices . She sounds like she is really growing and that’s awesome
The only people who should feel shame about that album cover are the men who suggested it.
Amen to that! Selena is inspirational – she seems like such a sweet, smart young lady. Impressed with her hosting Vax Live last year. Haven’t seen Only Murders, guess I’ll try listening to her music 😊
Isn’t she close with Taylor Swift? I remember Taylor making a comment around the time Miley was going off and finding her independence, that she (Taylor) didn’t think it was a bad thing if artists were showing a little more skin and being sexy, as long as it was their choice and not men in boardrooms deciding an image. I wonder if Taylor was partially thinking of this situation, seems like the timing would add up.
I love Selena so much, and Revival is one of my favourite albums. I can see her feeling ashamed if she was pressured to do it, or didn’t feel it represents her. The nudity itself was fairly tame as far as popstars go.
She’s a very self-reflective woman and this also lets her lead with kindness to her friends (Britney Spears, for instance). I think self-reflection helps us to be generous to others, sometimes more generous than we are to ourselves.
I think she looks beautiful in that album cover, and the human body is not something to be ashamed of! However, using it to sell your music and being pressured to feel sexy is another issue. I think we all make decisions we regret (part of human nature). We should all remember to practice kindness, especially at ourselves. Nobody knows everything, especially at a young age!
The two men on either side of her must be security. How sad that a young woman , in broad daylight, fears for her safety and hires protection.