As the most followed woman on Instagram with a whopping 429 million followers, Selena Gomez has never been overly concerned about social media success.
“I’ve never really worried about that,” Gomez said Tuesday afternoon at Universal Music Group and Thrive Global’s Music & Health Conference. “I suppose I’m grateful for the platform, and I’d like to continue using it for what I can do, but numbers are just numbers.”
On the contrary, she is well aware of the responsibility that comes with such a far-reaching platform. In her post, Gomez has heard from several fans about how her work has helped them through extremely difficult times. “It can be a little tough,” she continued. “I feel for people, and I think that’s what keeps me in check, to be honest. I think I can be a little reckless with my emotions and have conversations with young people, women going through divorce or chemotherapy – it’s not just about me, and I’m fully aware of that. I’ll just cherish it always. It is a big responsibility. It’s a bit scary.”
In a conversation with Sir Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal Music Group, and Arianna Huffington, CEO of Thrive Global to conclude the day-long event, Gomez spoke about all aspects of her own mental health journey, in addition to what’s next for the Only murders in the building star. And although the multihyphenate makes music, stars in a critically acclaimed comedy series and owns her own cosmetics brand Rare Beauty, writing a book is not on the agenda for Gomez.
“Oh no, I don’t know,” she said. ‘I’m not wise enough. I don’t think I can. But does that mean that one day I would no longer be interested? I have nice things I would like to say, but not right now.”
Last year, Gomez was the subject of the Apple TV+ documentary My mind and Iwhich chronicled the star’s six-year journey battling autoimmune diseases, mental illness and the pressure of being in the spotlight.
“I was very against it,” Gomez said of her initial thoughts My mind and I. “There was a very long period of time where I just didn’t know if it was a good idea. I knew that eventually one day I might just want to be an actress for a while, and I didn’t know if this would jeopardize things in my life. I don’t know what I’m doing, letting people into my life. And at the time it was released… I had no choice at that point. And I was relieved. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders.”
She added, “I felt like I had to say things that I had been holding on to for years. It’s very difficult for me to watch. I’ll never see it again, but I’m very proud of it. I couldn’t be happier with the people who worked on it.”
The conversation also touched on the issue of AI, which continues to be a major issue across Hollywood amid the double-strike negotiations. As for Gomez’s thoughts on how this will impact the music industry, the VMA winner remains hopeful for the future. “I don’t think anyone in my field wants to feel like they have to lean on a computer to translate their story or what they’re trying to say,” she said. “It scares me, to be honest, the whole AI thing, but I don’t think you could ever replace what a human can write… Lil Wayne said it really well, and he basically said there’s no other human like who you are. And that’s all it should be.”
Coming off her latest single ‘Single Soon’, Gomez is expected to announce the release date of her third studio album SG3 in the near future. Next month, the former Disney Channel star’s nonprofit Rare Impact Fund will also host its first-ever benefit gala to raise money to support mental health care and the fight against stigma in space.
