Selena Gomez Responds to Her Viral VMAs Reactions: “I Will Never ...
Selena Gomez is more than used to fame, but that doesn’t mean she’s always comfortable with her face being used all over the internet. Case in point: her becoming an instant meme at the VMAs 2023.
ICYMI: Selena Gomez made the trek to New Jersey to attend the famed awards show on September 12. After gracing the red carpet in a stunningly intricate, red embellished gown from Oscar de la Renta (that immediately made me crave Twizzlers), Gomez made her way into Prudential Center to enjoy the show. Before she left her seat to pick up the award for Best Afrobeats with seatmate and collaborator Rema, Gomez had plenty of priceless reactions throughout the entire ceremony that, for better or worse, were caught on camera.
During this year’s VMAs, fans at home got to see a lot more celebrity reactions than they are used to, thanks to the inclusion of a “POV” camera, which was streamed for free on MTV’s YouTube and captured candid moments from the show as well as backstage glimpses. It was this “POV” camera that caught a lot of Gomez’s moments that soon went viral on social media, prompting the star to speak up.
The first viral moment of the night came while Olivia Rodrigo was performing “Vampire,” a performance that featured staged technical difficulties. Gomez was caught on camera holding her hand to her ear — which, given the fact that things were literally exploding on stage, we’d say it’s a pretty normal reaction. The video, without context, went viral on X (formerly Twitter), accumulating over three million views and speculation around whether Gomez was reacting to Rodrigo's vocals or the set design.
Another shot, which is at almost 33 million views at the time of writing, shows Gomez’s reaction to Chris Brown getting a nomination. The clip was highlighted by iHeartRadio Australia's social media with a standalone news card teasing her reaction, which did not please the Rare Beauty founder, who took to the comments to write: “Who cares lol.” The third viral clip of Gomez at the VMAs was her (very rightfully disappointed) reaction after discovering SZA, who had just won Best R&B, was not present at the show to collect her Moon Person award. (We get it, seriously.)
Shortly after the VMAs wrapped up, Gomez took to Instagram stories to share some memorable moments from the night, including a picture with her bestie Taylor Swift, and also took the chance to address the “memes” born from the night. “I will never be a meme again. I’d rather sit still than be dragged for being myself. Much love,” Gomez wrote against a black background.
Screenshot/Instagram @selenagomez
It’s unclear which one of the three instances prompted Gomez to speak up — or if she’s being 100% serious about this statement. Lest we forget, when the Selena Gomez blanket meme became a thing just a few weeks ago, the star took it in stride, even joining in on the fun and sharing her favorite takes to her stories.
It’s safe to assume Gomez is not anti-meme for the sake of it, but she probably has a problem when her image is used to spew nonsense with misogynistic undertones, especially as someone who is often pitted against other women despite constantly denying “feuds.” Having your every move scrutinized is the price you pay for fame. (For instance, fans are already speculating as to why Gomez's most recent release, “Single Soon,” was temporarily removed from streaming platforms on September 14, seemingly without an explanation.)
Becoming a meme is but a secondary effect of fame in this day and age and while we love award show snippets as reaction memes (shout out to Meryl Streep!), we get having to draw the line somewhere when fake narratives get spun around. But I don't know, that's just a hunch.
