Selena Gomez went viral for the sour faces she made in response to Chris Brown’s Best R&B nomination and Olivia Rodrigo’s performance at the 2023 MTV Video Music Awards Tuesday night.
However, the “Calm Down” singer now regrets allowing herself to have such unfiltered reactions.
“I will never be a meme again,” Gomez, 31, said via her Instagram Story Wednesday.
“I’d rather sit still than be dragged for being myself,” she added, referencing some of the negative feedback she got online due to her visceral facial expressions.
The “Love You Like a Love Song” singer then concluded, “Much love.”
While Gomez pointed out some of the backlash she received due to the viral clips, the overall reaction online appeared more mixed — particularly regarding Brown, 34.
Selena Gomez wrote via her Instagram Story that she will “never be a meme again” after her reactions at VMAs 2023 went viral.MTV
“I’d rather sit still than be dragged for being myself,” the pop star also wrote.selenagomez/Instagram
“She represents all of us,” one user tweeted, receiving more than 13,000 “likes” as of Wednesday.
Another added, “He should of never been nominated.”
A third person pointed out why Gomez may have taken issue with Brown’s nomination in the first place.
“How the world just forgets how Chris brown literally beat the s–t out of Rihanna is just crazy to me. Same Selena,” the user tweeted, referencing the “Go Crazy” singer’s domestic violence incident with the “Diamonds” superstar, 35, in 2009.
Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna in 2009 when they were dating, which is why many believe Gomez made the sour face when his name was mentioned.Getty Images for NARAS
Brown pleaded guilty to one count of felony assault due to the scandalous incident.Getty Images
However, Gomez did not just have a disgusted look when she heard Brown was nominated. She also appeared horrified during a moment in Rodrigo’s performance.
The 20-year-old took the stage at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ, on Tuesday to sing a mash-up of tracks from her second studio album, “Guts.”
Midway through Rodrigo’s performance of “Vampires,” her set collapsed, prompting Gomez — who was in the audience — to cover her ear and have a concerned look on her face.
Gomez was seen covering her ear after Olivia Rodriguez’s set collapsed.MTV
Rodrigo’s stunt was reportedly done on purpose as part of her act.Getty Images for MTV
“Not Selena Gomez covering her ears during Olivia Rodrigo performance😭,” one person tweeted, while another added, “Selena being weird towards Nicki [Minaj] and Olivia.. but she’s supposedly the ’nice innocent girl’ that’s an EVIL mean girl.”
However, the “Single Soon” singer took to Instagram Wednesday to clear things up again, writing in the comments section of a BuzzFeed Celeb post about the moment, “I heard a loud noise and it scared me.”
Reps for Gomez did not immediately return Page Six’s request for comment.
