Getting candid. In a new episode of her virtual cooking show, Selena + Chef, Selena Gomez got emotional while addressing life in the spotlight.
While the 28-year-old “Lose You to Love Me” songstress was making a roast chicken and bruschetta with restauranteurs and chefs Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo on the Thursday, August 20, episode, Shook, 39, who is married to actress Shiri Appleby, asked Gomez whether she cares “about people’s reviews and what they write.”
“I guess I’ll just speak on comments in general,” she replied. “No, it does not help me in any way. I think the things that I do read that are helpful for me, are when it comes to my charity work.”
Gomez went on to explain that she doesn’t like when there is too much focus on her personal life. “The part that frustrates me is, when people think of me … do they just think of me as, ‘Oh, that girl who was with that person’ and that’s it?”
Though the Texas native didn’t name names, she was involved in a high-profile, on-and-off relationship with Justin Bieber from 2011 to 2018. She also dated The Weeknd in 2017 and has been linked to Orlando Bloom, Charlie Puth and others in the past.
“I would be devastated if people think that because I’ve worked so hard to not be that but to be, you know …” she continued as she started to tear up. “Sorry, I’m getting emotional.”
Dotolo, 39, then tried to comfort his student. “Knowing that you come from that place made it so easy for us to do this,” he explained.
At the end of each episode of Selena + Chef, Gomez proves she’s dedicated to giving back and announces that the show will donate $10,000 to a charity of the guests’ choice. Shook and Dotolo picked the NAACP.
In an earlier episode of the show, chef Antonia Lofaso chose Beit T’Shuvah, a drug and rehab facility in Los Angeles, and the Monte Carlo star opened up about her own experience. “I also have bipolar, so I deal with a lot of mental health issues and some of my family members are also addicts, so, you know, it’s something that I’m extremely passionate about as well,” she explained at the time. “I think that there is a lot of shame and guilt in it and then there’s also this pressure of, you know, wanting to feel like you’re a part of the crowd if you do this and do that.”
In addition to the charity work she is doing via Selena + Chef, the Wizards of Waverly Place alum also established the Rare Impact Fund last month. The fund, which is affiliated with Gomez’s Rare Beauty line, will help individuals in underserved communities get access to mental health services and support.
The team behind the initiative aims to raise “an ambitious $100 million over the next 10 years to help increase access to mental health resources.” To make it happen, 1 percent of the brand’s annual sales will go directly to the fund.
