Selena Gomez might have made history as the most followed woman on Instagram but, on Thursday, she publicly threatened to deactivate the popular Meta-owned social media platform entirely over the Israel-Hamas war. The 31-year-old ‘Texican’ pop star posted then promptly deleted an Instastory reading: ‘I’m taking a break and deleting my Instagram. I’m done. I do not support any of what’s going on.’
Selena had first announced her ‘break from social media’ on Monday ‘because my heart breaks to see all the horror, hate, violence, and terror that’s going on in the world. People being tortured and killed or any act of hate towards any one group is horrific,’ Gomez tactfully wrote in a statement. ‘We need to protect ALL people, especially children and stop the violence for good. I’m sorry if my words will never be enough for everyone or a hashtag. I just can’t stand by innocent people [getting] hurt. That’s what makes me sick. I wish I could change the world. But a post won’t.’
The two-time Grammy nominee also Instastoried an old snap of her 10-year-old half-sister Gracie Elliott Teefey captioned: ‘Having a sister, everyday has made me tragically sick. I would do anything for children and innocent lives.’
Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported Thursday that over 3,600 children (9K total) have been killed in the first 25 days of the war, mostly due to airstrikes in retaliation for their October 7th attack which left 1,033 Israeli civilians dead.
Meanwhile, Israel claimed around 500 Hamas militant rockets have misfired and landed in Gaza, and it accuses the terrorist group of using civilians as human shields at targeted militant sites and infrastructure.
Selena turned the comments off on her last two Instagram posts, but her World Mental Health Day post from October 4 is filled with shaming comments from pro-Palestine activists.
Gomez ‘never really cared about’ about having an eye-popping 430M Instagram followers, along with an additional 220.4M followers on other social media platforms.
‘I suppose I’m grateful for the platform, and I would love to continue to use it for what I’m able to do, but numbers are just numbers,’ the Only Murders in the Building producer-star said at the Music & Health Conference in September. ‘It can be a little heavy. I feel for people, and I think that’s what kind of keeps me in check, to be honest.’
‘I think I can be a little reckless with my emotions and having conversations with young people, women who are going through divorces or going through chemo – it’s not just about me, and I’m fully aware of that. I will just always cherish it. It’s a big responsibility, though. It’s a little scary,’ She continued.
Selena – whose assistant ran her account for four years – previously took a break from Instagram in February over her alleged feud with ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber ‘s wife Hailey Baldwin Bieber. ‘I’m gonna be taking a second from social media, because this is a little silly,’ Gomez said on TikTok Live at the time. ‘And I’m 30, I’m too old for this, but I love you guys so much and I will see you guys sooner than later – I’m gonna just take a break from everything.’
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