Selena Gomez No Longer Feels Haunted by Her Disney Past: I Definitely Feel Free of It, b

 Posted on February 19, 2024  |  4 minutes  |  791 words  |  Larita Shotwell

Selena Gomez told Vanity Fair as part of its 2023 Hollywood Issue that she no longer feels haunted by her Disney past. The “Only Murders in the Building” actor rose to international fame as the star of Disney Channel’s “Wizards of Waverly Place,” but being a Disney star put a limit on what she could say in public and more. Gomez is feeling more liberated after the release of her 2022 Apple documentary “My Mind and Me.”

“I definitely feel free of it,” Gomez said about her Disney past. “Sometimes I get triggered. It’s not that I’m ashamed of my past, it’s just that I’ve worked so hard to find my own way. I don’t want to be who I was. I want to be who I am.”

Related Stories

Illustration of a TV set with a desert scene with a tumbleweed blowing across the screen VIP+

Fall Season’s Scripted Reduction Bodes Badly for Broadcast TV

LOS ANGELES, CA - AUGUST 01: Christopher Ciccone poses for a portrait while promoting his new book "Life With My Sister Madonna" on August 1, 2008 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)

Christopher Ciccone, Artist and Brother of Madonna, Dies at 63

When asked if there were times in her child acting career where she was prevented from speaking her mind, Gomez answered, “Of course. I wasn’t a wild child by any means, but I was on Disney, so I had to make sure not to say ‘What the hell?’ in front of anyone. It’s stuff that I was also putting on myself to be the best role model I could be. Now I think being the best role model is being honest, even with the ugly and complicated parts of yourself.”

Popular on Variety

In “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me,” the actor and singer opens up in more detail than ever before about her mental health struggles. While Gomez was nervous about putting such honesty out in the world, she said the reception following the documentary’s release has been nothing but freeing.

“Now I don’t feel like I’m lying to people,” Gomez said. “It’s not that I was lying…I was scared of what people would think or that people wouldn’t hire me. Now I don’t think that way. I understand that if it doesn’t feel good to me, then I need to step back and evaluate. Is this friendship giving me something? Is this project a really good one?”

“Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me” is now available to stream on Apple TV+.

Read More About:

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

Most Popular

Must Read

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXN%2FjqasrKGTZLumw9Joqp6klaOubrPOppyzZZiWwq%2FAxJ1knaGjo7K6ec%2Baqq1llpqyrXnFq5yeZWFngHaBkWxucGhf