Political activism, an altruistic cooking show, and a beauty line that challenges the stigmas of mental health. This was Selena Gomez’s 2020.
We see Selena Gomez moving very naturally in her spacious and enviable kitchen. Her face wears only a little makeup –although, on occasions, she complements it with a rouge lipstick that manages to highlight her features–. Various cameras have been placed at every angle in your kitchen to get personal shots. There are no directors, videographers or makeup artists, Selena + Chef is the name of the cooking show for HBO Max that launched in mid-2020 amid the health crisis. She is now the cover of December-January.
Yes, the pandemic may have made her stay home, but that did not mean that her work and influence have stayed there. And is that the singer Selena Gomez is not only testing her culinary talents. Quite the opposite. Selena + Chef has all the shades of the actress and what she has become. Inside this she is not the pop star that many still take her for, she is something else. Much more would I say. The actress, singer, producer and entrepreneur stands in front of a camera and talks with various chefs and learns (and teaches the public) how to cook. But the bottom line is not there. In each show, the famous hostess donates $ 10,000 to a defined charitable cause. That’s when the real Selena Gomez comes into play.
Selena Gomez on the importance of mental health
“Make sure you pick up the phone and call you frequently”, is his advice when I ask him about the message of hope that he would give to all those families who have lived separated because of Covid-19. “We have to make sure we are aware not only of our family but also of our friends. People feel lonely and isolated, and a simple call to ask how they are doing is very helpful, ”he adds. And this issue is particularly personal for her. When they say that experiences create us, Selena Gomez is a great example of it. His career began at the age of seven in a children’s program and since then he has never stopped. However, medical diagnoses such as lupus – an autoimmune disease that was diagnosed in 2013 – that led to a kidney transplant orhis bipolar disorder has run parallel to his career, opening – without a doubt – a different perspective.
2020 seems to have taught Bad Liar songwriter Selena Gomez so much pride. When the Black Lives Matter movement it reality in the United States and in the world, Selena decided to hand over her Instagram account to Afro-descendant voices with the intention not only of educating her followers but herself, according to her account. That position follows a consistent path of taking sides on issues that truly concern him and generate the need to raise his voice. If this has been a challenge, she is clear: “It was when I was younger because, frankly, I was finding my own voice and trying to clarify who I was and what my beliefs were. When I found it, I felt that it was a responsibility to use my platform in a meaningful way, ”he tells me.
I felt that it was a responsibility to use my platform in a meaningful way.
Hence, some of Selena Gomez’s projects as a producer refer to personal and close issues. The potential controversy didn’t stop her, and in 2017 she announced herself as the executive producer of 13 Reasons Why , a series for teens and parents that addressed topics such as suicide, mental health and drug use in young people. Later in 2019, Living Undocumented- a Netflix documentary series that follows eight immigrant families of different backgrounds facing deportation – came out with his name in between. At that time, she told TIME that “As a Mexican-American woman I feel a responsibility to use my platform to be a voice for people who are too afraid to speak.” Both projects revealed their sensitivity to the vulnerability of many young people and families in the United States and their intention to contribute to generating change.
Selena Gomez launches a cosmetic line: Rare Beauty
Selena Gomez has known how to take advantage of her platform and influence to talk about issues that have shocked her. When he took time out a few years ago to deal with his health complications, the entire industry wondered where he was. His response was one of introspection. Now, she has become a staunch advocate for mental health. And as proof, in early 2020, she launched her cosmetic company, Rare Beauty . “From the beginning, when I started talking about starting a cosmetics company, it was important to me that it was more than just a beauty brand. I knew that mental healthit would be at the forefront of our purpose. I have been open about my personal mental health struggles and have been affected by feeling less. Through my openness, I have listened to many young people who also struggle and this is something very close to my heart. I hope we can empower the Rare Beauty community to challenge beauty norms by shaping positive conversations about self-acceptance and mental health, ”said Selena Gomez .
Rare Beauty’s vision is to create a safe and welcoming space that supports mental well-being.
Thus, in recent years this strong discourse has been added to its social networks. At other times, he has been sincere about his penchant for detoxification from social networks and not believing everything that is appreciated there. That is why “ Rare Beauty’s vision is to create a safe and welcoming space that supports mental well-being based on age, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, cultural background, physical or mental ability, and perspective. . So we decided that we needed to release no less than 48 shades of foundation and concealer. I wanted to make sure that everyone who is part of the Rare Beauty community feels represented, ”adds Selena Gomez . However, his vision did not stop there.
In addition to the cosmetic line, Selena Gomez announced the Rare Impact Fund, with which she believes that many people can be helped. “We want to reduce the stigma associated with mental health, address the epidemic of chronic loneliness, and give people access to the resources they need to support their mental well-being. Our goal is to raise $ 100 million over the next 10 years to help connect people with mental health services.especially underserved communities ”. And to achieve this, the company also announced the creation of an internal council composed of leaders and professionals from the fields of mental health, philanthropy, entertainment, the media, academia and beauty, which will help guide its strategy. long-term.
Family is everything to me. I am very close to my family; my grandparents live with me and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Selena Gomez and her political activism
This Texas-born young woman – who is the third generation of a Mexican-American family – seems to have figured out her purpose. Remembering how his aunt and grandparents crossed the border between Mexico and the United StatesHidden in the back of a truck, she is very open about her pride in her Mexican heritage and her stance as an advocate for immigrant rights in the United States. “Family is everything to me. I am very close to my family; my grandparents live with me and I wouldn’t have it any other way. In my family we fight a lot and love even more. I love when people say that your friends are the family you choose, but your family is the family that you are stuck with and I think sometimes that brings other challenges but at the same time it brings a sense of history and connection that doesn’t it can be replicated ”.
In the framework of the presidential elections in the United States , Selena was very active. Recognizing that in the past she was not very educated on the importance of the vote (especially the Latino vote) and that in 2016 she did not exercise it because she was in an emotionally complicated moment, this year things changed. Selena energetically participated in conversations to promote it. His cultivated and sensitive voice has taken on noticeable strength. When I ask him, what is the role you see yourself taking in this world considering the circumstances that you have lived? I think of the maturity of what he tells me: “That is the question, we are all shaped by circumstances.And I’m not sure what the future will look like for me, since the evolution of our lives is not predictable. What I do hope is to continue feeling curious about life, to challenge myself and learn from my mistakes (there will be many) ”, she concludes.
