While Selena Gomez may often be in the news for miscellaneous celebrity gossip, her public struggle with lupus has reflected a larger phenomenon of celebrities with hidden disabilities and chronic illnesses being body shamed by the media. Jinny Kim brings you more on invisible disabilities and how they affect celebrities and fans alike.
I want to talk about Selena Gomez. And no, it’s not about her dating rumors or drama.
In February, Gomez livestreamed on TikTok to respond to the recent fat shaming comments from tabloids and the Internet.
GOMEZ: I just wanted to say and encourage anyone out there who feels any sort of shame for exactly what they’re going through and nobody knows the real stories.
Gomez has lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease that causes the immune system to attack healthy tissue. Weight gain can be a side effect of medication, which she has publicly opened up about.
GOMEZ: I don’t believe in shaming people for body or anything.
This body-shaming phenomenon of celebs who have chronic illnesses unfortunately isn’t unique to Selena. Twitter users recently poked fun at a red-carpet picture of Abbott Elementary star Tyler James Williams for his thin-looking frame—without knowing that he has Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. It’s also reminiscent of late actor Chadwick Boseman, who received similar comments about his body before his sudden passing in 2020 due to colon cancer.
When you don’t know someone’s medical history, you truly have no idea what someone might be going through. Dr. William Stohl is professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine and chief of the Division of Rheumatology. He spoke about some of the less visible manifestations of chronic illnesses like lupus.
STOHL: Perhaps the more invisible or what perhaps people don’t think about as much is that you just feel lousy. You don’t have the energy you used to have. You don’t have the stamina you used to have. Brain fog. That’s a real big one.
Dr. Patricia Ganz, a medical oncologist and the associate director for Population Science Research at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, backed up Dr. Stohl’s comments about the struggles of less visible chronic illness symptoms.
GANZ: Social Security disability was using very old classifications, like if you have very advanced cancer and are going to die from it, you know, they would give you disability. But we pointed out all of these things, the fatigue that may make it difficult for people to work, the cognitive difficulties.
According to health and disability news publication Disabled World, an estimated 10% of people in the U.S. have an invisible or hidden disability. But Dr. Ganz explained how these misconceptions about what a disability “should” look like make it harder for these people with invisible disabilities to receive accommodations.
GANZ: There are legal options in terms of protecting this, but sometimes it is difficult when people look well, they’re well-groomed, they look like there’s no scar, you know, physical scar that you can see. It’s, it’s harder for them to get those accommodations.
Along with medical professionals like Dr. Ganz and Dr. Stohl making developments in the treatment and education of chronic illnesses, star power is also making strides. Other celebs like Lady Gaga, Michael J. Fox, Daniel Radcliffe, and Gigi Hadid are helping break down the stigma by being open about their hidden disabilities and chronic conditions.
If you are seeking accommodations or other disability-related resources at USC, check out the Office of Student Accessibility Services at osas.usc.edu.
For Annenberg Media, I’m Jinny Kim.