Selena Gomez Wasn’t Allowed to Say ‘What the Hell’ As a Disney Star
At only 30 years old, Selena Gomez has done so much that it’s almost difficult to keep up. She’s been in the spotlight for two decades as an actor, singer, and executive producer. To say that she has come a long way is putting it lightly. While she got her start with humble beginnings, as her popularity increased, Gomez became a household name. There were rules to follow, however. As it turns out, Disney policed the young star’s speech — among other things.
Selena Gomez became famous for her work on the Disney Channel
Back in 2004, Gomez got her first role on the Disney Channel. She first appeared in a guest roles on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Hannah Montana. Though she went on to film pilot episodes for two more Disney Channel shows, neither was picked up.
However, Gomez did go on to win the starring role of Alex Russo in Wizards of Waverly Place. In addition to making films for the network, she released albums under Disney’s Hollywood Records. “I’m beyond proud of the work that I did with Disney as well. It kind of shaped who I am in a way,” she said via RadioTimes in 2021. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t limiting, too.
Selena Gomez had to be a role model early in her career
The Disney Channel is known for it’s squeaky clean image. So it’s only natural that Gomez had to follow certain guidelines. “I was being held to this expectation of being the good girl,” she told the New York Times in 2015. Like Miley Cyrus, the Jonas Brothers, and the others in her orbit, Gomez was expected to maintain the image the network demanded of its stars.
In a 2023 interview with Vanity Fair, Gomez opened up more about the pressures of Disney, as well as those she put on herself. “I wasn’t a wild child by any means, but I was on Disney, so I had to make sure not to say ‘What the hell?’ in front of anyone,” she said. “It’s stuff that I was also putting on myself to be the best role model I could be. Now I think being the best role model is being honest, even with the ugly and complicated parts of yourself,” she added of how her attitude has changed as an adult.
Selena Gomez has taken steps forward in her career
Gomez has also opened up about how liberated she has felt in recent years since moving forward in her career. She released a documentary on Apple TV+ called Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, and made the decision to share with fans her mental health and how she has been coping since her 2018 bipolar diagnosis. According to Rolling Stone, the documentary is pretty eye-opening, showing the star at her best and at her worst.
Since the project’s release, Gomez has said of herself that “I don’t feel like I’m lying to people. It’s not that I was lying…I was scared of what people would think or that people wouldn’t hire me. Now I don’t think that way.” She added, “I understand that if it doesn’t feel good to me, then I need to step back and evaluate.”
Now that the actor has truly moved on in her career, she talks about how she connects with people, saying, “I’d rather be remembered for my heart than anything else.”
