Facing the Backlash
Selena Gomez reels as critics blast her pet project for being dangerous
Selena Gomez is left reeling by controversy over her pet project.
The backlash came quickly. After getting strong reviews, the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, about a teenage girl who kills herself, was caught in a groundswell of criticism seemingly overnight. Tweets and editorials attacked it for glamorizing suicide. The National Association of School Psychologists released a warning urging “vulnerable youth” not to watch. A director of The Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide said it “could really be unsafe.” Even Paris Jackson, who’s admitted trying to kill herself multiple times in the past, posted on Instagram that it could be “extremely triggering.”
Selena Gomez was stunned. As executive producer of the show, she’d worked for nearly a decade to get the series ( based on a 2007 novel) made. In recent weeks the singer, 24, had been proudly promoting the drama in interview after interview, calling it a “passion project.” Now she was forced to defend it, caught in a controversy she never saw coming. “This show was her baby,” an insider tells Life & Style, “so the criticism is hitting her like a hurricane.” And though she’s putting on a brave face, telling the Associated Press, “We wanted to do it justice and, yeah, [the backlash] is going to come no matter what,” in private, she’s crumbling. “She’s despondent over the entire thing,” says the insider.
FIGHTING BACK
Selena just wanted to help people. She’s dealt with emotional issues herself, going to rehab in 2014 and 2016 and claiming last year’s stint was to deal with “anxiety, panic attacks and depression.” The series makes a strong antibullying case, and Selena believed in it so much, she planned to star in it at one point. But the character who kills herself leaves behind tapes that help her get a sort of revenge on her tormentors, which critics argue romanticizes suicide. “Selena is so upset,” says the insider, “because she felt like it was handled with the utmost respect
for the heavy subject.”
Those close to Selena worry the stress of this new controversy could be bad for her health. But the star is mostly worried about her fans. “She’s telling friends she wants to do more to speak out against the criticism,” says the insider. If the backlash doesn’t die down, she intends to go on The Ellen Degeneres Show or a similar program to speak out against suicide and defend 13 Reasons Why. “Selena knows she has to do everything she can,” says the insider, “to help her young fans understand that this series is not meant to glorify suicide.”