Selena Gomez is pushing back against the constant nostalgia surrounding her appearance in 2016, saying some people seem determined to keep her looking like the version of herself from a decade ago.
The 34-year-old singer and actress addressed the fixation in a recent People cover interview, where she spoke openly about getting older and how her approach to beauty has changed. Gomez said she finds the continued circulation of her old photographs entertaining but admitted that the reaction can become intense.
'I always make this joke where I think people want to freeze me in time to that period of my life,' Gomez said, explaining that she has no intention of recreating her appearance from when she was 24.
Gomez Says Her Beauty Has Naturally Evolved
Gomez recalled that 2016 was a hectic period in her life, when she frequently wore the smoky-eye makeup associated with that era. She now prefers a more natural approach to beauty, although she said she still enjoys doing a smoky eye from time to time.
'Now I do a smoky eye, and it just looks a little different,' she explained, adding that people wanting her to look exactly as she did back then is simply 'not going to happen.'
Rather than viewing ageing negatively, Gomez said she has been enjoying the process. She described getting older as something she is not afraid of and acknowledged that physical changes are an inevitable part of life.
Critics Question Her Changing Appearance
While Gomez attributes the difference partly to ageing and an evolving approach to beauty, online discussions have taken the conversation in another direction.
Some commenters have claimed that her changing appearance is not simply the result of getting older, with some alleging that cosmetic procedures or 'bad choices' contributed to the differences they see between her current appearance and her 2016 look.
On Reddit, for example, one commenter harshly pointed out what they believed could have caused the pop star's drastic facial change: 'She had a bad bleph, then put too much filler into her temples to try to balance it back out. Now she has a squinty eye bc of it. None of that has to do with her age, just bad choices.'
Those claims remain speculation from online commenters, however, and Gomez has not publicly confirmed undergoing the procedures being discussed.
The debate has become particularly heated on Reddit, where some users have accused Gomez of having cosmetic work, while others have pushed back against the speculation and argued that her appearance can change for many reasons. Some commenters have also pointed to her history of lupus and related treatment when discussing changes in her appearance, though online theories should not be treated as medical conclusions.
Gomez Is Choosing to Embrace Ageing
Despite the criticism, Gomez appears comfortable with moving beyond the image she had a decade ago. She said she is embracing a more natural beauty philosophy and accepting that her appearance will continue to change.
'Things are going to change and things are going to sag, but you're alive,' she said, describing age as 'just a number in many ways.'
Her comments come as her 2016 looks continue to resurface online, demonstrating how strongly audiences can become attached to a celebrity's past appearance. For Gomez, however, the message is straightforward: the version of herself from 2016 belongs to that period of her life, and she has no plans to remain frozen there.
