Selena Gomez Admits She Felt “Ashamed” by Past Album Cover Photo
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Selena Gomez is known for digging deep, being vulnerable about her mental health struggles, and even creating the platform Wondermind to end the stigma around discussing these topics. But lately, she's opening up on even more aspects of her life.
Coming hot off an interview where she shared how she handled public breakups and health problems, Selena joined in on a roundtable discussion with The Hollywood Reporter featuring comedic actresses on television Amy Schumer, Bridget Everett, Molly Shannon, Quinta Brunson, and Tracee Ellis Ross.
During the chat, Amy pointed out that Gomez, who first appeared as a child actor on Barney & Friends and later became a dazzling star on the Disney Channel in her tweens, playing Alex Russo on Wizards of Waverly Place, was sexualized at a young age. Saying that the situation she was placed in was "unfair," Gomez recalled a time when she felt insecure about the creative decisions she made during a photo shoot. Ultimately, the situation made her feel oversexualized.
"I actually did an album cover and I was really ashamed after I did it," she said in the talk. "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, but I think that I've done my best, at least I try to be myself."
For the Only Murders in the Building actress, the shoot's creative direction didn't feel natural. "I'm not an overly sexual person," she explained. "Sometimes I like to feel sexy but that doesn't mean it's for somebody else. It can be for me."
But this isn't the first time that Selena has opened up about this particular shoot.
In a 2020 cover story with Allure, the singer revealed that she felt "pressure" behind making the cover photo for her 2015 album, Revival. In the album's black-and-white cover photo, the then 23-year-old posed in a way that would make her appear nude while strategically keeping parts of her figure covered.
"I just did things that weren't really me," she said, referencing decisions she made years earlier in her career. "There was pressure to seem more adult on my album, Revival. [I felt] the need to show skin...I really don't think I was [that] person."
Luckily, Selena feels that she's at a much better point in her life, where she feels greater autonomy and is happy to set boundaries.
"I am in full control of my life and everything that I do, what is out there, everything," Gomez shared with the comedians. "I'm in charge of everything in my life."
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