Why Selena Gomez Skipped the 2019 Billboard Music Awards

Alyssa Bailey
Photo credit: Emma McIntyre - Getty Images
Photo credit: Emma McIntyre - Getty Images

From ELLE

Tonight, Selena Gomez's good friend Taylor Swift performed at the Billboard Music Awards. 13 Reasons Why's second season soundtrack, which Gomez has a song on ("Back to You"), is nominated for Top Soundtrack. But Gomez isn't at the Las Vegas ceremony. The singer's absence is not too, too surprising. Gomez herself isn't personally nominated for anything and has not been at any music award shows this year so far.

Gomez attended Hollywood Reporter's Empowerment in Entertainment event in Los Angeles yesterday and shared an Instagram from it earlier today, so she has been on social media. And Gomez is due in Cannes later this month though for her upcoming movie's premiere The Dead Don't Die at the Cannes Film Festival.

View this post on Instagram

Yesterday at the @hollywoodreporter Empowerment in Entertainment event, I had the honor to meet some of the brightest students who might never have imagined a career in Hollywood as they were given the opportunity to go to college and work with mentors in the industry. Thank you to the most courageous, brave, intellectual, strong, beautiful spirit that is Oprah for caring so much about empowering all walks of life but more importantly for being the action and not just standing behind the word. You DO it. Thank you for continually inspiring us to be kinder, greater and stretching all the boundaries for the better. “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.”

A post shared by Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) on May 1, 2019 at 8:24am PDT

Gomez was last at the Billboard Music Awards in 2013, so it has been a very, very long time since she has attended the ceremony.

Photo credit: Frank Trapper - Getty Images
Photo credit: Frank Trapper - Getty Images

But Gomez was out on a red carpet last week. The singer attended We Day California, where she wore a navy Dior dress. She spoke to an Entertainment Tonight reporter there about how much there was to look forward to with her friend Swift's upcoming new music.

"Oh yeah! Oh my goodness, yeah, it’s amazing, you just wait!” she said.

Gomez's first big interview of 2019 came out earlier that week. She appeared on the first episode of Coach's new podcast Dream It Real, where she candidly discussed why she chose to be authentic and real with her fans, rather than hiding behind a celebrity persona.

"I think there came a point in my life where I just started not to care...." she started "Obviously my situation is different and very weird but when I was younger, I was exposed to all of this [fame]. It was just all these pictures and all the things and all I would do is look at the flaws. [That kind of attention], it is hard. And I think that you kind of create this other persona of yourself and then when I started going through real, really difficult things, it [not caring and ultimately being authentic] just allowed me to have worth, to know that I’m worthy and that I am who I am. And who is that? And do I like that person? I think that it’s important for me. I don’t want to be anything that’s a show or a persona. I just don’t."

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