Skip to main content

With Selena Gomez back in the spotlight with her new music, many fans have not forgotten about her controversial remarks that landed her in hot water.

Years later, it’s still hard to understand the tweets and the lore surrounding Gomez’s association with Black Lives Matter continues to exist.

Selena Gomez in Cannes, France
Selena Gomez | Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

What did Selena Gomez say about Black Lives Matter and why

This all started back in 2016 when Gomez came to the defense of her friend Taylor Swift, who was feuding with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. The latter leaked supposed audio on Snapchat of Swift agreeing to West’s song, “Famous.”

After West’s Snapchat video went viral, Gomez tweeted, “There are more important things to talk about… Why can’t people use their voice for something that f**king matters.”

Then, when a fan quoted the tweet asking why she and Swift have never spoken on police brutality or Black Lives Matter, Gomez said in a now-deleted tweet, “oh lol so that means if I hashtag something I save lives? No- I could give two f**ks about ‘sides.’ You don’t know what I do.”

While Gomez likely thought she was just coming to the defense of her friend, the way she doubled down in the second tweet made it seem to some like she was minimizing the epidemic of police brutality and violence against Black people in America. It was also suggested that Gomez should know more about the issue, given that she identifies as a person of color.

Did Selena Gomez really give a huge donation to Black Lives Matter?

There has been a long-standing rumor on social media that Gomez, feeling either heat from the backlash or being genuinely sorry, donated money to the Black Lives Matter organization. None of this information has ever been confirmed, but an account that appears to be her cousin tweeted back in 2018 that she donated.

Many Selena fans also say that her cousin says that the donation was made before she was questioned about her involvement with Black Lives Matter, and this was why she tweeted ‘You don’t know what I do.’ Still, there is no tangible evidence of Gomez’s support of Black Lives Matter either before or after the controversy.

What fans are saying about the comments now

Due to the popularity of Gomez’s new song, “Lose You to Love Me” fans are still thinking about those tweets from back in 2016.

“don’t forget selena gomez is anti-black lives matter luvs xxxxx,” tweeted one person recently.

Someone else asked, “So what happened with Selena Gomez and the black lives matter thing. Did she apologize or clear it up or?”

Another added, “Selena Gomez literally wanted to work w woody Allen PHEW and talked down on black lives matter hashtag saying they don’t do anything they don’t work and turned around and used a whole other tag like ?????????? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE”

We may never know Gomez’s true stance on Black Lives Matter and the controversy it spurred, but it will definitely continue to be a talking point for years to come.