Update 9:01am CT, Dec. 14: Gomez’s profile is now public. Even better, the singer confirmed on Thursday that she has a new album on the way in 2018.
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The most-followed person on Instagram just turned her account private.
Pop star Selena Gomez, who boasts 130 million Instagram followers, went dark on Tuesday. The decision seems to have been spurred in part by her anger at a recent Billboard profile, which she responded to late Monday in an Instagram story. The reporter on this piece wrote that Gomez received a large teddy bear, and that nugget of intel appears to have sparked Gomez’s frustration with the published story.
“Never will I let another human guess my words ever again. Or invite them into my home. That is so hurtful,” the 25-year-old star wrote. “The most ‘ridiculous’ part of that is no one knowing my heart when I say things.” That language was plastered over this excerpt from the Billboard story:
There’s a five-foot teddy bear sprawled across the kitchen floor in Selena Gomez’s North Hollywood home. “I know, I know,” says Gomez, rolling her eyes, acknowledging that the stuffed animal doesn’t quite blend with the trio of armchairs nestled in the inviting, marble-accented nook. “It was a gift, and at first I thought, ‘This is so ridiculous, I can’t wait until I give it away to another person.’”
But Gomez, 25, hasn’t let go of it — yet.
Granted, that’s the beginning of the story, so maybe the teddy bear has nothing to do with it. The profile itself is a personal look at a pop icon in her mid-20s who endured a painful 2017 that required a kidney transplant. It’s a story about a woman, who has been a working actress since age 7, retreating to a peaceful and comparatively humble home after a breakup. It also mentions that Justin Bieber, a longtime romantic interest, is back in her life.
Was her private Instagram status prompted by an uncomfortable interview that felt invasive? Don’t be surprised: These days celebrities have direct ways to reach mass audiences, and they keep tighter leashes on their personal narratives. For Gomez, doing an interview may have been an uncomfortable reminder that it’s rarely fun to be written about.
But maybe she just needs a breather. Fans astutely point to this recent update, too, which notes that she’s looking forward to some “alone time.”
Selena Gomez via Instagram Stories. pic.twitter.com/fdmrCnc2TT
— Selena Media (@SelenaMedia) December 4, 2017
Who among us couldn’t use a little break from the internet right about now?
H/T Elle