31-year-old American singer Selena Gomez says she cried alone after reading negative comments online about her appearance.

According to Fox News, on the Apple TV show Dear… that aired on March 10, the singer said: ‘I lied. I posted a photo of myself online and claimed I wasn’t affected by the negative comments. But when I posted the photo, I cried my eyes out in my room. No one deserves to hear those things.’

Gomez has been a victim of body-shaming online on multiple occasions. In recent years, the actress has faced many health issues. She underwent kidney transplant surgery in the summer of 2017 when her lupus complications worsened. The treatment had side effects that caused Gomez to gain weight.

She added: ‘I pretended not to care because I didn’t want people in the same situation to feel ashamed of their bodies. It’s unfair to make someone feel bad just because of their appearance. No one deserves that. My weight fluctuates regularly because of the medication. I see that they want to find any way to bring me down. I was teased for gaining weight due to lupus treatment.’

In January, Selena Gomez made headlines when she appeared at the Golden Globes awards ceremony in Hollywood. The photos she took on the red carpet were mocked online. In February, the actress announced that she would be taking a break from social media. Prior to that, she said she had been limiting her time online. Gomez only borrowed her assistant’s phone to post personal photos and no longer read comments from fans as before. She believes that social media makes many women obsessed with perfect, unrealistic beauty.