Entertainment

Selena Gomez's Sad Face At The AMAs Will Make Your Heart Hurt

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Selena Gomez just made her first (and only!) performance of 2017 at the American Music Awards, introducing the world to her new song, "Wolves." But, following the performance, fans noted that Gomez looked a little down. Why was Selena Gomez sad during her 2017 AMAs performance?

Gomez's performance was all about the production — it had her, wearing a slip dress, socks, and sneakers, emerging from what appeared to be a car wreck. A foggy car wreck at that. There were also bruises all over her body and a head wound that looked like it would need a few stitches. When all seemed quiet, that's when Gomez's backup dancers came out, moving their bodies in way that made me sore just watching them (so many convulsions!). The dancers seemed to represent literal wolves, pulling her and pushing her and launching her all over the stage. It was pretty beautiful, even if the song played second-fiddle to the production of the performance. It was like a horror movie in its simplicity, and for her first performance back following a kidney transplant, it was pretty good for Gomez! But fans on Twitter noticed especially that Gomez looked really upset and disappointed following her song.

Some were concerned...

...And many offered their support for her.

Others defended Gomez, too.

It's nice that Gomez's fans are so supportive of her, and it sucks that there are many online who are, let's say, not as nice. Gomez was harshly criticized after her AMAs performance because people suspected her of lip syncing. Can the girl catch a break? In case you're not up on the Selena Gomez happenings, she has had a YEAR, okay? Gomez was diagnosed with lupus in 2015, and she underwent chemotherapy to help fight the disease in 2016. She also decided that she needed to take time off to care for herself, which was especially important — in a statement, Gomez said that depression and anxiety are side effects of lupus, and she needed to get all of that under control and do what was right for her. That meant a break.

In September 2017, Gomez revealed that she had been laying really low in the months prior because she had a kidney transplant because of her lupus. Gomez's friend, actress Francia Raisa, donated the kidney.

Of the ordeal, Gomez told TODAY's Savannah Guthrie that she didn't know what she would have done without Raisa. She said:

“She lived with me in this interesting time where my kidneys were just done. That was it and I didn't want to ask a single person in my life. The thought of asking somebody to do that was really difficult for me. And she volunteered and did it… The fact that she was a match, I mean, that's unbelievable.”

So not only is Gomez battling a serious disease, one that attacks your own immune system and wreaks havoc on your body, but she had a kidney transplant, too. And she still got up on stage to perform her new single.

Whether or not Gomez was disappointed after her performance or that was just her face (sometimes that is my face and I'm not sad about anything — it's just my face), perhaps we should all cut her some slack. None of what she's been through is easy, and it's especially not easy when you're in the public eye and people are just waiting to tear you down when you fall. While it's easy to feel like you should do more and move faster, progress is sometimes made in little teeny steps. What Gomez needs now is to be proud of herself, and for everyone else to give her some space.