Selena Gomez cited her ongoing health issues with a intestinal illness called SIBO as she defended her appearance during a recent outing at an industry event in Los Angeles.
The Only Murders in the Building star, 32, was pictured Tuesday at the DGA Theater Complex in Los Angeles for the debut of her new movie Emilia Perez during the American French Film Festival.
Gomez responded to a series of comments in a since-deleted TikTok video, in which commenters scrutinized her appearance at the event.
‘This makes me sick,’ Gomez said in a TikTok comment. ‘I have SEBO in my small intestine. It flares up.’
She continued, ‘I don’t care that I don’t look like a stick figure. I don’t have that body. End of story. No I am NOT a victim. I’m just human.’
Gomez – who plays the role of Jessi in the forthcoming film opposite Zoe Saldana and Karla Sofía Gascón – said her weight can fluctuate as result of her health issues with lupus and other conditions.
Gomez wore a black split leg gown made of ruched fabric to the screening, with her arm positioned around her waist area in multiple snaps from the event; a number of fans insinuated ‘she was hiding her body in some way,’ according to Elle.
SIBO stands for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, which happens when ‘the passage of food and waste products in the digestive tract’ slows, ‘creating a breeding ground for bacteria,’ per the Mayo Clinic.
The condition is usually caused by ‘surgery or disease,’ the clinic said, as ‘symptoms include bloating, stomach pain, and malnutrition.’
Fans in the comments were overwhelmingly supportive of Gomez, who in 2017 had a kidney replaced.
‘The internet is everyone’s biggest hater,’ one person aptly wrote while another penned, ‘They pick on her for everything it’s so heartbreaking.’
Gomez went into detail about how water weight impacts her appearance in a TikTok Live segment she did last year.
‘I tend to hold a lot of water weight and that happens very normally, and then when I’m off it I tend to kind of lose weight,’ the entertainer revealed.
Last week, Gomez shared a video of herself in the dress in question dropping her ballot at an official ballot box on her way to the premiere of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Some fans thought Gomez’s red dress meant she voted for Donald Trump as red is traditionally the color of the Republican Party.
But Gomez is an outspoken Democrat and has been very critical of Trump’s campaign especially after comedian Tony Hinchcliffe called Puerto Rico a ‘floating island of garbage’ at the October 27 rally at Madison Square Garden.
Gomez, who is Mexican-American, said she ‘strongly disagreed with any comments that were made,’ referring to the disparaging remarks against the island by the since disgraced comedian.
‘I definitely want to stand by my people,’ Gomez said.
