Selena Gomez is facing criticisms from the online community after she shared a social media clip where she’s “crying like an idiot,” weeping over Donald Trump’s massive deportation of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.
Selena Gomez lost over 750,000 Instagram followers in the past month following backlash over an emotional video she posted addressing Donald Trump’s Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns of undocumented migrants in the U.S.
On January 26, according to the BBC, a nationwide sweep of immigrants resulted in the arrest of about 1,000 people – the most since Trump returned to the White House.
“A number of federal agencies with newly expanded detention powers were involved in the raids in a number of cities including Chicago, Newark and Miami,” the publication writes.
The former Disney star, whose grandparents emigrated to Texas from Monterrey, Mexico, responded to the widespread immigration crackdown by sharing her grievances online, where she’s seen weeping in a now deleted clip on Instagram.
“I’m so sorry. All my people are getting attacked,” Gomez, 32, told her 422 million followers in the January 27 post. “The children. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry. I wish I could do something, but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.”
The post immediately went viral, racking up millions of views within hours. However, the response was anything but unanimous.
‘Proud of her’
Some fans applauded the actor, who served as executive producer of Living Undocumented, a 2019 documentary that followed the lives of 11 illegal immigrant families living in the U.S.
“Selena’s tears speak volumes. Her empathy for the children and families affected is heartbreaking yet inspiring. We need more voices like hers to bring attention to such injustices. Proud of her for standing with her people,” tweets one fan of her heartfelt clip.
A second writes that “Selena’s story is heartbreaking, and it really shows how deeply she cares.” “Seeing her express that kind of raw emotion over the deportations and the suffering of children is powerful. It’s clear she feels a strong sense of empathy and a desire to help. Hopefully, her platform can inspire others to take action or at least raise awareness about these injustices,” the user tweets.
A third shares, “People are laughing at her but I get her, Selena came from an immigrant parents and she was given an opportunity while she’s crying because there are Mexican kids that are getting deported and their future is getting destroyed she has the right to cry.”
‘Open your homes’
Meanwhile, others were less than pleased and suggested that “crying doesn’t solve anything.”
“There are many other ways to help, I don’t think recording yourself crying on a video will help that much. Go out and try to meet with them, fight to make them hear your voice, use your influence in a better way, crying doesn’t solve anything,” shares one user.
A second writes, “She says ‘I wish I could do something.’ She’s worth $1.6 billion. She could do something IF she really wanted to.”
“She’s got multiple properties. She can rehome some illegal immigrants into any / all of them. Much more useful than crying like an idiot,” another user rages in the comments section of a tweet that shows her clip. “Come on [Selena] don’t be a hypocrite. Open your homes to some illegal immigrants.”
A fourth netizen suggests her acting isn’t believable: “For an actress, she’s terrible at crying and convincing me. She needs to be more dramatic,” the user shared.
White House responds
The White House even responded to her clip with a tweet that features mothers whose kids were killed by “illegal aliens.”
“Kayla Hamilton, Jocelyn Nungaray, and Rachel Morin were murdered by illegal aliens. [These] courageous mothers had something to say to [Selena Gomez] and those who oppose securing our borders,” the post says.
“Gomez’s video became a political lightning rod in the days after it was originally posted on Monday, with Republican Utah politician Sam Parker suggesting she should be deported as well because her grandparents originally entered the country illegally,” Billboard reports.
“Thanks for the laugh and the threat,” Gomez responded on Instagram.
Mass departure of followers
After sharing her tearful clip, the star of Only Murders in the Building lost more than 751,000 followers, according to Social Blade, a site that tracks social media statistics.
Despite the noticeable decline with her online fans, Gomez is still ranked as one of the top followed celebrities.
After the star deleted the weepy clip, she shared an Instagram story, writing, “apparently it’s not ok to show empathy for people.” That post has also been deleted.
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