Selena Gomez on Helping Others, in Glam Images by Inez and Vinoodh for ELLE US

Mega talent Selena Gomez covers the September 2021 issue of ELLE US September 2021./ Photographers Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin [IG] capture ‘The Return of Selena with styling by Alex White./ Hair by Orlando White; hair by Orlando Pita

I wonder how Gomez feels about the intro to her cover story ‘The Return of Selena’ by Carina Chocano. The star may have a whole new vibe in these Inez and Vinoodh photographs but ELLE grounds her mostly in the past.

ELLE’s sub-headline: “After years battling health issues and heartbreak, Selena Gomez opens up about mental illness, her new Hulu series and not knowing her own Instagram password.”

Actually, Selena Gomez states the obvious about herself, with a far more timely and not narcissistic narrative. We’ve read about Gomez’s mental illness for years.. Given the times in which we are living, why not promote Selena’s message about herself, rather than rehashed, old-news editorial, click-bait.

Just because Google prioritizes Selena’s challenges with mental illness doesn’t mean we can’t give her a major update with our words. It’s not easy for people like Selena to move past prior challenges that would have brought down most of us — including ELLE’s headline writer.

“My lupus, my kidney transplant, chemotherapy, having a mental illness, going through very public heartbreaks—these were all things that honestly should have taken me down,” she says. Gomez speaks slowly and calmly, in a surprisingly low and uninflected register. “Every time I went through something, I was like, ‘What else? What else am I going to have to deal with?’ ” “ ‘You’re going to help people,’ ” she told herself. “That’s really what kept me going. There could have been a time when I wasn’t strong enough, and would have done something to hurt myself.”

We can all use some positivity, and Selena Gomez delivers it.