Why Selena Gomez Received High Praise From Flavor Flav

Flavor Flav is showering Selena Gomez with praise amid the recent backlash she faced over body image.

Gomez, who has been transparent about her own mental health journey, including her bipolar disorder diagnosis, fiercely responded to body-shamers who had the nerve to criticize her appearance at last week’s "Emilia Pérez" premiere in L.A.

Following the backlash, Flavor Flav stepped in to show his support for Selena Gomez.

The rapper shared a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, dedicated to the actress as he exclaimed, "I don’t know her personally, but Selena Gomez is one of the STRONGEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL people inside and out."

He added, "I applaud her for being so open about her health and mental health. And I applaud her even more for clapping back at haterz,,, but she shouldn’t have to."

In a now-deleted TikTok, trolls suggested she was “hiding” her body by posing with her hands across her stomach at the American French Film Festival. However, Gomez clapped back in the comments, expressing how "sick" it made her to see people targeting her weight.

"This makes me sick," Gomez said in a TikTok comment. "I have SEBO in my small intestine. It flares up.'

She continued, "I don't care that I don't look like a stick figure. I don't have that body. End of story. No I am NOT a victim. I'm just human."

Gomez has become a leading advocate for mental health, using her own experiences to help raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health issues.

In 2020, she launched the Rare Impact Fund through her beauty brand, Rare Beauty, pledging to raise $100 million over the next decade to improve young people’s access to mental health services. This initiative is central to her brand’s mission, which promotes self-acceptance and mental wellness.

The brand's vision is "to create a safe, welcoming space in beauty—and beyond—that supports mental well-being across age, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, cultural background, physical or mental ability, and perspective."

“Being rare is about being comfortable with yourself," she said. "I've stopped trying to be perfect. I just want to be me.”

In just five years, Rare Beauty has become a major influence in the beauty industry, winning over influencers and teens alike, thanks in large part to Gomez's wide-reaching popularity.

“I really tried my hardest to create a product that were beyond just me putting my name on something,” Gomez said in a radio interview last year. “I wanted the products to be great, and I also wanted the message to be that makeup is meant to be fun.”

In her 2022 documentary, "Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me," she openly shares her struggles and emphasizes the importance of seeking support.

Her advocacy has garnered recognition from various organizations. In 2022, the Ruderman Family Foundation awarded her the Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion for her contributions to mental health awareness.

Additionally, Stanford University honored her with the Mental Health Innovations Award for Excellence in Mental Health Advocacy.

Gomez has experienced remarkable personal and professional growth over the years.

Lately, she has emerged as a passionate advocate for mental health, leveraging her platform to increase awareness and help break down the stigma surrounding mental health challenges.

“Being true to myself means being unafraid of being me,” she told Vogue earlier this year. “I have grown so much over the years, and at this point in my life, I am really comfortable in my own skin.”

At 32, Gomez has reached an impressive net worth of $1.3 billion, largely thanks to her successful cosmetics brand, Rare Beauty.

This achievement has secured her a place on Bloomberg's Billionaires Index, joining an exclusive group of self-made female billionaires, including her friend Taylor Swift.

While Swift built her fortune mainly through music and touring, Gomez's wealth comes from a diverse range of ventures, including her beauty brand, acting career, music, and significant social media following.