It's hard not to root for Selena Gomez. The 25-year-old singer/actress has had a tumultuous past year. Early last year, she underwent a kidney transplant. Her kidneys were shutting down and the singer was facing dialysis when her friend and roommate, actress Francia Raísa, donated one of her own.
In the time after the complicated but ultimately successful surgery, she tried to keep a low profile. Soon enough, though, the internet was abuzz with rumors about her love life. She called it quits with her boyfriend of one year, R&B artist The Weeknd, in October. By the holidays, she was linked to on-again/off-again bf Justin Bieber.
She's been busy this year, focusing on her health and her role as an executive producer on the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why, which released its second season to lots of buzz just last month. Things are looking bright for the talented young star. And yet, haters gonna hate. In this case, the hater in question is infamously sharp-tongued designer Stefano Gabbana, who really should mind his own business, in the opinion of, well, everyone.
It All Started With An Instagram Post.
The Catwalk Italia, an Italian fashion blog, posted this image of Selena rocking five different red outfits, asking fans to comment which was their favorite.
Cue The Comment Heard Around The World.
Stefano Gabbana, a designer and one half of Italian luxury fashion house Dolce & Gabbana, chimed in with his two cents. The original comment was written in Italian and said "É proprio brutta!!!" This translates to "She's so ugly!!!," as seen in the photo.
If You Don't Have Anything Nice To Say, Don't Say Anything. At All.
Obviously, Gabbana didn't learn the golden rule. Or maybe he felt entitled to share his opinion as a "voice" for the fashion community. Either way, it doesn't justify tearing someone down who literally didn't ask for it. (Plus, uh, she's not ugly.)
Friends To The Rescue
Selena is super lucky to have a great group of friends who have her back. As soon as news of the comment began to spread, her friends jumped to her defense. Tommy Dorfman, who plays Ryan Shaver on 13 Reasons Why was one of the first to react, commenting "@stefanogabbana you’re tired and over. your homophobic, misogynistic, body-shaming existence will not thrive in 2018. it is no longer tolerable or chic. please take many seats."
Songwriter Julia Michaels, who has worked with Selena in the past, tweeted her support to the star. She elaborated in a tweet directed at her followers about bullying, saying "Bullying, no matter who u are or what u do, is never OK. No matter how entitled U think U are, it does not give u permission 2 say hurtful things to someone. Please know that words cause scars and create insecurities. Your words take 5 seconds to type/say but years to heal from."
Singer Madison Beer, a friend of Selena's who is signed to Justin Bieber, tweeted her support when a fan mentioned the drama.
Nat Wolff, who co-starred with Selena in the 2014 film Behaving Badly, retweeted a news article about Gabbana's comment, adding "what a d*uchebag" in a since-deleted tweet.
Actress Jaime King, known off-screen for being one of Taylor Swift's besties, praised Selena for her beauty inside and out.
When a Miley Cyrus fan account posted this image of Miley and Selena together after the controversial comment, Miley herself chimed in, "Well what that dck head said if it's true is fcking false and total bullsht." She added in an additional comment, "She fine as fck."
This Isn't The First Time Stefano Gabbana's Comments Have Been Poorly Received.
When Vogue Brasil posted this image in celebration of Victoria Beckham's 44th birthday, he replied with several thumbs down emojis. This comes after controversial comments in 2014, where Gabanna acknowledged Beckham as a friend but cut down her work as a designer.
He also famously criticized Lady Gaga's body during her 2017 Super Bowl Halftime performance. The next day, he changed his tune and complimented the singer for being "real."
The most controversial of Gabbana's comments have been about the gay community. As an openly gay man, he has remarked that he doesn't wish to be called gay, and has spoken out against IVF and gay adoption.
Amidst the latest round of controversy surrounding his comment about Gomez, the designer tweeted out this headline from a May Washington Post article, showing he's unbothered by the backlash to his unpopular opinions.
Selenators Showed Their Support
Selenators are not a fan base to be played with! They fiercely went to bat for the singer, who has yet to publicly react to the comment herself.
With a fanbase as fierce as hers, there's hardly any need for her to issue a statement. It's clear the people who love her have her back!
While it's unfortunate that Stefano Gabbana shows no remorse for his hateful comments, the internet's overwhelming backlash to his comments does have a bright side. Perhaps we are finally starting to see the beauty in others. Let's recognize that celebrity or not, no one deserves to be torn down this way.
