Selena Gomez reveals her lupus diagnosis

CEBU, Philippines - Selena Gomez is writing her own narrative. The tabloids have been running rampant with headlines about  her alleged bad behavior, and now, the singer-actress is  setting the record straight in Billboard’s October 17 issue.“I’ve never had a problem with drinking,” she says defiantly. That’s not to say her life is perfect, of course. Not too long ago, she says, “I felt like I’d lost everything. Just because it’s not plastered everywhere doesn’t mean I didn’t have my rock bottom. I’ve had my moments, and it’s almost unsafe for me to even talk about them, because I’ll be taken advantage of.”

In 2013, after releasing her debut solo album “Stars Dance,” Gomez abruptly canceled the end of her tour, saying she needed to “spend some time on myself.” Then, in January 2014, she checked herself into The Meadows, an Arizona-based rehab.

“I was diagnosed with lupus, and I’ve been through chemotherapy,” the actress reveals. “That’s what my break was really about. I could’ve had a stroke.”

At the time, Gomez decided to keep her diagnosis private. Tabloids blamed everything from alleged alcohol issues to a breakup with Justin Bieber for Gomez’s stint in rehab.

“I wanted so badly to say, ‘You guys have no idea. I’m in chemotherapy. You’re a—holes.’ But I was angry I even felt the need to say that,” the 23-year-old pop star says. “It’s awful walking into a restaurant and having the whole room look at you, knowing what they’re saying. I locked myself away until I was confident and comfortable again.”

Gomez’s lupus is in remission, and the key to staying healthy is “diet, routine and medication.”

Gomez is now back and better than ever, with her highly anticipated album Revival coming out in just a few days. Her breakout single “Good For You” and recent track “Same Old Love” quickly drew fans and suggested that the singer is venturing into a new sound.

She explains that she’s been channeling her frustrations and anger into the music, and is ready to make this all about her.

As far as gossip is concerned, she says, “I’m so nice to everybody, and everyone is so vile to me. I’ve been working since I was seven. I’ve been a UNICEF ambassador since I was 17. It’s so disappointing that I’ve become a tabloid story. It took away everything I loved about this business.”

But she credits her critics as a driving force for this album: “The hate motivated me.”

Asked about Bieber and his comeback, she says, “I’m proud of him. This is what I always saw in him, why I always believed in him.” They don’t talk, but “we’re on good terms.”

Gomez also reveals she was “extremely insecure” about her voice and has felt “trampled” at times, particularly when loved ones have criticized her appearance.

“As a woman, especially, you expect it in the business, but from the people that I chose to love—that was a bummer.” Recalling one negative experience, she says, “I was in a bikini and got publicly ripped for being overweight. That was the first time I’d experienced body shaming like that. I believed some of the words they were saying. When somebody else has your self-esteem in their hands...”

In addition to being a body positive role model, Gomez says she also wants to change the double standard that men and women are subjected to in Hollywood. “If I did half the things guys did, I wouldn’t have a Pantene deal,” she says.

“There’s a certain standard women are held to because...I don’t know. So many women nowadays are so loud about it. We need to cause a bit of uproar, because I’ve seen it. I’ve experienced it. It’s absurd.”