Selena Gomez Has Opened Up About Feeling “Violated” By “Slimy” Men During Her Disney Channel Days

Selena Gomez first appeared on our screens as a child actress in Barney and Friends, and later rose to fame through her role in Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place.

But the now 25-year-old has opened up about feeling uncomfortable growing up in the public eye, and she’s expressed her feelings about “slimy” men who care more about her personal life than her talent.

Speaking to Business of Fashion, she said, “I started getting known for things that weren’t [related to] my work. That’s when my passion started to really feel like it was going further and further away. And that scared me.

“When I was younger, it was all fun to me. When I did state fairs and 100 people would show up, I would be stoked. That was the best feeling in the world. But when I got older, I started to become exposed to the truth behind some stuff and that’s when it flipped a little bit.

“I realised that, ‘Oh this is actually really hard, and kind of slimy in certain areas,’ and I didn’t realise that certain people wanted certain things from me. My confidence went through a lot with that,” she confessed.

The star struggled with photographers in her teens, especially those who would candidly take pictures of her on the beach. “I remember just feeling really violated when I was younger, even just being on the beach. I was maybe 15 or 16 and people were taking pictures — photographers.

“I don’t think anyone really knew who I was. But I felt very violated and I didn’t like it or understand it, and that felt very weird, because I was a young girl and they were grown men. I didn’t like that feeling.

“Then, I would say the last season of my show, I was probably 18 years old, is when I felt like the flip happened. I didn’t feel like it was about my art as much. I was on the fourth season of the show, and I felt like I was outgrowing it. I wanted something different and obviously I fell in love (with then-boyfriend Justin Bieber) for the first time. There was all this stuff that was happening, and I didn’t know what to do.”

Since then, Selena has had to take a couple of breaks from the public eye, including a three month stay in rehab to improve her mental health.

What do you make of her comments about being a child star?