Selena Gomez Says Trolls Are Why She Didn't Manage Her Social Media Accounts for Years

Selena Gomez has famously been candid about her mental health — she has a whole documentary about it, after all — and how social media has played a role in exasperating it. Four years ago, Gomez passed off her social accounts for her team to manage (though, she has recently rejoined Instagram), and inVanity Fair's latest Hollywood cover, the actress opened up about why she made the decision to remove herself from her social media presence.

"People can call me ugly or stupid and I’m like, 'Whatever,'" she told the publication, referring to trolls. "But these people get detailed. They write paragraphs that are so specific and mean. I would constantly be crying. I constantly had anxiety … I couldn’t do it anymore. It was a waste of my time."

She added, "The world was my high school for the longest time, and I started getting inundated with information that I didn’t want. I went through a hard time in a breakup and I didn’t want to see any of the [feedback] — not necessarily about the relationship, but the opinions of me versus [someone] else. There’d be thousands of really nice comments, but my mind goes straight to the mean one."

Even now, after being back on her own accounts, Gomez told the outlet that she only keeps the TikTok app on her phone — fitting considering the singer is a bit of hit on the platform.

"I find it to be a little less hostile. There are wonderful things about social media — connecting with fans, seeing how happy and excited they are and their stories," she said before adding that her team vets content before it makes it to Gomez. "But usually that’s filtered through [for me now]. I created a system. Everything I do I send to my assistant who posts them. As far as comments, my team will put together a few things that are encouraging."

The publication's special issue also features some of Hollywood's elite, including Jeremy Allen White, Regé-Jean Page, Keke Palmer, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, and more.