Despite reportedly taking a break from her on-off boyfriend Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez couldn’t look happier while visiting Sydney with friends.
Yesterday, paparazzi shared photos of the singer on a yacht, wearing a bikini which showed the scars from her life-saving kidney transplant.
The internet being the internet, responses varied from people praising Gomez for her beautiful body, to people criticising her size and her scars.
Following the photos, Gomez, who is Down Under for Hillsong’s Colour Conference (a religious convention specifically for women), took to Instagram to share an inspiring response about self-care and body image.
“The beauty myth- an obsession with physical perfection that traps modern woman in an endless cycle of hopelessness, self consciousness, and self-hatred as she tries to fulfill society’s impossible definition of flawless beauty,” the 25-year-old wrote, alongside a video of her sailing past the Sydney Opera House with friends.
“I chose to take care of myself because I want to, not to prove anything to anyone. Wind in her sails,” she finished.
Back in September, Gomez, who suffers from Lupus, revealed friend Francia Raisa had donated her kidney, later praising Raisa for saving her life.
Earlier this month, Raisa discussed undergoing the procedure, saying the best friends went through a tough time in the months that followed.
“We didn’t want to tell anybody because recovery was very hard for us, and we went through a depression at the time,” she told W Magazine.
“We kind of just wanted to be normal and not have that attention on us.”