Selena Gomez’s Emotional Response to Trump’s Deportation Orders Raises Some Fair Questions

 
 

By sTACY LEE KONG

Image: instagram.com/selenagomez

 
 

If we’re being honest, I was probably never going to respond well to Selena Gomez’s emotional Instagram Story about Donald Trump’s Republican government deporting Mexican people.

ICYMI, on Monday, she posted a video of herself sobbing to Instagram, saying “all my people are getting attacked, the children. I don’t understand. I’m so sorry, I wish I could do something but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.”

The emotion was justified, to be fair. She was responding to Trump’s weekend order to various federal agencies instructing them to begin carrying out immigration raids in NYC, Chicago, L.A., Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Denver, Miami and Atlanta. Ostensibly, these raids have been targeting undocumented people who had committed “serious crimes,” though in practice, only about half of the nearly 1,200 people who were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Sunday had a criminal record, and only eight were what a senior Trump official described as among the “worst criminals arrested.” (And what does that even mean? I have no idea.) The rest were just undocumented, which is considered a civil offence but not a crime. Oh, except some of the people who were arrested weren’t undocumented at all—they were U.S. citizens and, in some cases, members of Native American nations. So, you know, indigenous to the land America occupies, making them the diametric opposite of an immigrant.

But still. The tears felt like a performance to me, on a variety of levels. First—and very, very superficially—I’m just a bit suspicious of people who post crying videos. This is a subtle distinction, but I don’t mean videos where they’re crying, because sometimes you’re talking about something deep or difficult and you get emotional. (No one knows this better than me, I promise.) I more mean Crying Videos™️, a genre of social media post that is meant to evoke authenticity and vulnerability, but which always makes me wonder how many takes someone recorded before landing on one that felt post-worthy. (You know what I mean.) But on a less snarky front, when I watched the video after it was reposted on X, I found myself wondering who this message was for and what purpose it was intended to serve, because in the context of her past behaviour, it really just reads as conspicuous helplessness.

Yes, it does matter that Selena Gomez’s response to Trump’s immigration orders was driven by emotion

The trouble with celebrities who wade into politics is that everything they’ve ever said before is out there and relatively easily accessible, because the internet is an imperfect archive, but an archive nonetheless—and also people don’t forget anything, especially if they aren’t a fan. So, when Gomez posted herself crying, it took approximately 17 seconds for people to start making snarky comments about the disparity in her response to various crises. Social media users immediately started reposting her October 2023 Story about Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Palestine, which essentially said it was sad, but not something she felt the need to post about because that wouldn’t accomplish anything. A Story about Russia’s “horrifying and senseless unprovoked attacks against Ukraine,” which included a link to Unicef, similarly made the rounds this week, as did a 2016 Twitter interaction between her and a fan. In that thread, she pushes back against the idea that speaking out about injustice, in that case Black Lives Matter and police brutality, would make a difference. The implication is clear; Gomez’s crying post was hypocritical because she only has real empathy for some people. Namely, her people and white people.

I think it’s only fair to acknowledge that Gomez has done more than post; in 2020, after George Floyd’s murder sparked renewed BLM protests, she “blacked out” her website, redirecting her fans to organizations like Black Lives Matter, When We All Vote, Color of Change and the NAACP; offered up her Instagram for takeovers from Black activists and authors; and launched a (short-lived) Black Equity Fund through Plus1, a non-profit that helps artists and brands engage with philanthropy. And after she was roundly criticized for attempting to stay neutral in that 2013 post about Gaza, her company, Rare Beauty, posted a long Instagram statement about the conflict, which included a pledge to donate to two “International Red Cross/Red Crescent Societies - Magen David Adom, & Palestinian Red Crescent Society.” (Though yes, this did prompt even more criticism, since Magen David Adom describes itself as an auxiliary service to the IDF and is therefore not an independent organization, or one that you could support, philosophically or materially, if you really believed in Palestinian liberation.)

But… I do think the people have a point around empathy. When celebrities engage with philanthropy, they may or may not have altruistic reasons for doing so, but they are definitely aware of the business case. The reputational benefits alone are important, but frankly, so are the tax breaks. That is to say, donating money, encouraging your followers to contribute to the charities you recommend and making public statements are not necessarily emotional acts; they are practical ones. Sobbing on the internet is something else. It’s intended to send a message, and I think it’s worth asking which one. To me, it seems pretty clear that she’s sharing her emotional response in the hopes of inspiring a similar response in her audience. So yes, it is telling who gets her tears and who doesn’t. (Though to be clear: the racist Trumpers calling for her deportation are not making any points at all.)

We can all acknowledge that ‘raising awareness’ is no longer enough of a goal, right?

I have seen some people defend Gomez by saying that dunking on her (which they sometimes characterize as ‘bullying’ her which… I don’t know about that, bro) for her past comments is letting perfection be the enemy of progress. And listen, I get where those people are coming from. Anyone, even ultra-wealthy celebrities, can and actually should grow, change their minds and do better than they did before. However. Does this post actually constitute progress? I am very on the record about thinking celebrities should not be our moral compasses, and in fact I think they can really only be litmus tests for public opinion and useful tools that ideally help direct attention and funds toward important causes. (And that is the absolute best-case scenario.) But even within that very limited value proposition, I’m starting to feel iffy on the whole awareness thing. I guess you could argue that as a person with 422 million followers, her posting about immigration could sway fans who are uninterested, consider themselves ‘apolitical’ or even just have centrist views to think about injustice. But like… is the bar really that low? Just acknowledging that injustice happens cannot be a thing we praise people for. Not in 2025!

I get the argument that, with so few public figures saying anything about immigration this week, it feels particularly meaningful for Gomez to speak out. And yes, we should be thinking about the political, economic and safety reasons why people who have previously been so outspoken about immigration policy, including Chrissy Teigen and John Legend, Amal and George Clooney, Nicki Minaj, Kristen Bell, Mark Hamill, Anne Hathaway, Ellen DeGeneres, Kumail Nanjiani, Common and more, are being so quiet now. But also? I think we can expect a little more from our society’s most wealthy and powerful people than thoughts, prayers and teary messages. Especially since we’ve seen them—Selena included—mobilize effectively in the past. I want to see celebrities directly amplify resources around immigration justice and direct their followers to organizations that can provide legal advice to undocumented people and those who want to support the undocumented members of their communities. Link your followers to the National Immigrant Justice Center or Immigrant Justice Campaign, both of which provide legal services to immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Share articles that help educate people about their rights. Amplify legal content creators who are sharing credible information. Craft statements, post them on your feed and give interviews about why this issue is important. Re-share the documentary you made in 2019 about immigration?! And yes, donate some money!

Especially that last one. Baby, you’re a billionaire—wipe your tears and do something.

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Culture, IdentityStacy Lee KongNicki Minaj, Palestine, Gaza Strip, Israel, Selena Gomez, Black Lives Matter, Chrissy Teigen, John Legend, Amal Clooney, George Clooney, Kristen Bell, Mark Hamill, Anne Hathaway, Ellen DeGeneres, Kumail Nanjiani, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Common