Selena Gomez Responds to ‘13 Reasons Why’ Controversy: ‘It’s Not an Easy Subject to Talk About’

Char Adams
Updated

Selena Gomez is proud of “13 Reasons Why.” (Photo: Broadimage/REX/Shutterstock)

Selena Gomez is standing by her Netflix show 13 Reasons Why amid claims that the breakout drama glamorizes teen suicide.

“I just wanted it to come across in a way that kids would be frightened, but confused — in a way that they would talk about it because it’s something that’s happening all the time,” Gomez, 24, told E! News, noting that she is “very surprised” at the success of the project.

The critically well-received show has been widely talked about since it first hit the streaming service in March. The series, about a deceased teenager and the thirteen tapes she left her classmates about her reasons for committing suicide, draws its plot from Jay Asher’s 2007 young adult novel of the same name.

Our show @13reasonswhy came out tonight and I couldn39;t be more overwhelmed with pride and joy. After 7 years of holding onto this book, I couldn39;t of picked a better time for this message to exist. Jay Asher wrote a beautifully tragic, compelling story and we were lucky to have brought it to life. Thank you to every single soul that put their heart into this passion project

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Mar 31, 2017 at 1:24am PDT

The show features scenes of rape, alcoholism, drug abuse, body shaming and sexual assault. It also features a very graphic scene showing the main character Hannah (played by Katherine Langford) committing suicide. The National Association of School Psychologists has issued a warning against viewing the series to parents of “vulnerable youth.”

“We stayed very true to the book and that’s initially what Jay Asher created was a beautifully tragic, complicated yet suspenseful story and I think that’s what we wanted to do,” Gomez told the Associated Press.

“We wanted to do it justice and, yeah, [the backlash is] gonna come no matter what. It’s not an easy subject to talk about, but I’m very fortunate with how it’s doing.”

Wish the rest of the crew was with us today. Overwhelmed with the response and love @13reasonswhy is receiving. Thank you to each beautiful person who has watched and talked about the message of our show.

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on Apr 9, 2017 at 5:34pm PDT

She added that she is “very proud” of the project.

Among those who have spoken out about the controversial show is Paris Jackson - the daughter of the late Michael Jackson.

Selena Gomez Shares Exciting Details About Her New Passion Project’

Jackson, who revealed to Rolling Stone in January that she had attempted suicide “multiple times,” weighed in on the controversy in an Instagram post on Thursday, writing that the series is “an extremely triggering thing to watch.”

“[P]lease only watch this show with caution and keep in mind that it may put you in a dark place,” she wrote. “If you are struggling please don’t watch it. if you think you can handle it, please by all means check it out.”

This article was originally published on PEOPLE.com