Selena Gomez Says She Felt 'Violated' as Disney Star With Grown Men Taking Photos of Her on Beach
Selena Gomez rose to fame as a teenage star on the Disney Channel and says when she looks back at her teenage years, she recalls moments when she felt "violated."
In an interview with The Business of Fashion, the 25-year-old Gomez revealed that after playing Alex Russo on the Disney show "Wizards of Waverly Place" for five years, fame became less appealing to her. She was cast on the show at 15 years old and recalled times when she felt violated while in the spotlight.
"I remember just feeling really violated when I was younger, even just being on the beach. I was maybe 15 or 16 and people were taking pictures — photographers," Gomez recounted. "I don't think anyone really knew who I was. But I felt very violated and I didn't like it or understand it, and that felt very weird, because I was a young girl and they were grown men."
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She added, "I didn't like that feeling."
In the Business of Fashion interview, Gomez was asked about the challenges of being a millennial, to which she gave a candid response about people being unable to separate their digital life from reality.
"The biggest challenge is separating what you see on your phone from what is your life. A lot of young girls are getting involved with things that I didn't even know about, quicker," she said. "There are 13-year-olds who look like they're 25, and I was still wearing pigtails and running around like playing with dolls with my girlfriends and maybe listening to Jesse McCartney on a CD player [at that age]. That wasn't a long time ago, which is why it scares me."
The entertainer admitted that it worries her to see people who are less connected to one another.
"I see a disconnect from real life connections to people, and that makes me a little worried," she added. "I do think social media is an amazing way to stay connected, to learn more things about what's going outside your little bubble, but sometimes I think it's too much information."
Gomez, a Christian, has been outspoken about her faith for some time. In a previous Twitter Q&A, one fan asked what her song "Nobody" was about.
"God," Gomez answered simply. "Nobody is about Him."
