Selena Gomez has faced backlash after sharing a video in which she is seen crying as she spoke about President Donald Trump's program of mass deportations, including Mexican people, with some critics labeling her as "shallow" and "self-centered."
The 32-year-old actress posted an emotional clip to her Instagram Story on Monday morning, breaking down in tears as she expressed distress over Trump's decision to deport undocumented immigrants. This came shortly after he issued a daily arrest quota for border officials. "All my people are getting attacked, the children," said Gomez, whose family is from Mexico. "I don't understand. I'm so sorry. I wish I could do something but I can't."
Deleted after Getting Slammed
In the now-deleted video, Selena said she felt helpless about the situation, telling her 422 million followers, "I don't know what to do. I'll try everything."
The video sparked criticism from social media users, many of whom accused Selena of failing to use her reported $1.3 billion net worth to take meaningful action.
British journalist and broadcaster Piers Morgan led the backlash, saying, "Posting yourself weeping over illegal immigrant criminals being deported is a new level of absurd celebrity narcissism."
Sharing a similar viewpoint, another commenter wrote, "What a moron. What purposes does this serve? Is this a PR stunt???? Who cares what Selena Gomez thinks. Keep it to yourself. Disgraceful."
"One of the people that has enough power and money to actually help people is posting a video of themselves crying on an Instagram story, like can you please give your money away," another person added.
"Selena Gomez, if you truly want to help use your millions to make their lives better!" yet another wrote.
Others accused Selena of "staged outrage" and urged her to step away from social media for a while.
In her video, Selena wept about "my people getting attacked." She wrote "I'm sorry" with the Mexican flag emoji on her video.
In the Line of Fire
However, she quickly took down the post and wrote "Apparently it's not ok to show empathy for people." Selena soon deleted that post also. However, Selena did receive some support for her posts from users on social media.
"How can people be mad at someone with Mexican heritage being heart broken by how the US treats Latinos? That's literally her family!" the Selena Gomez Updates account posted.
Another person said, "I understand she's very empathetic due to her Mexican descent and feels responsible for them. I don't blame her, as many good people among them came to feed their families."
"Damn this is sad. Glad Selena is bringing light to how terrible this," another user wrote.
Since taking office last Monday, Trump, 78, has intensified efforts to remove so-called criminal migrants from the United States, fulfilling a key campaign promise.
On Friday, ICE reported the arrest of 593 illegal migrants with criminal records and issued 449 detainer requests to local authorities, asking them to hand over migrants marked for deportation.
Selena has personal ties to immigration, as her paternal grandparents and aunt moved to the U.S. from Mexico in the 1970s. However, her parents, Ricardo Gomez and Mandy Teefey, were both born in the United States.
Selena also produced the 2019 Netflix documentary "Living Undocumented", which chronicles the lives of eight illegal immigrant families in the U.S.
In her op-ed, she shared that she "cried" while watching the deeply personal stories of those featured in the documentary, pointing out that the film "captured the shame, uncertainty, and fear" that she had witnessed her own family endure.
