Selena Gomez returned to the stage at the 2017 American Music Awards on Sunday, November 19, for her first performance since undergoing a kidney transplant earlier this year. Despite her bravery, many viewers criticized the 25-year-old for allegedly lip-synching her latest single, “Wolves.”
A newly blonde Gomez hit the stage at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater in a short white nightgown and sneakers for her first performance in more than a year. She was joined by DJ Marshmello and a group of backup dancers. At the end of the song, Gomez appeared downcast as she shrugged at the applause from the star-studded audience and mouthed, “Thank you.”
“I was just about to say how nice it was to see all the performers singing live and not lip synching….until Selena Gomez came on… #AMAs,” one Twitter user wrote. Another tweeted, “Wait wait wait… okay y’all not trying to bash on anyone’s performance but was that a lip sync slip up or like some really loud back up vocals in Selena Gomez ‘s performance likeeeee…. genuinely asking #AMAs #2017.”
The “Bad Liar” singer’s legion of fans were quick to clap back. “Selena did amazing tonight. I don’t care what others say. Stay pressed. We Selenators are proud of our idol and for how hard she’s worked and everything she’s gone through. We love you Selena. You did great,” one fan tweeted. A second added, “may i remind y’all selena is still recovering from a kidney transplant and she just gave the performance of a lifetime. words can not express how emotional i’m feeling right now.”
Later in the night, Gomez thanked her fans for supporting her performance. “Thank you to my best friend Petra [Collins] for helping me bring it to life,” she said in a video on her Instagram story alongside the caption, “grateful grateful grateful.”
The Disney alum has yet to publicly address the lip-synching rumors.
