Selena Gomez is done being the subject of your viral posts. Finished. Over. Dead and buried. No more. The multi-hyphenate musician made this explicitly clear on her Instagram Stories overnight after attending the 2023 MTV VMA awards in New Jersey.
The “Single Soon” pop star was nominated for three ‘Moonmans’ at the ceremony, including “Best Collaboration” and “Song Of The Year” for the single “Calm Down” featuring Rema.
Though, it wasn’t her fiery Tomato Girl Summer-approved Oscar de la Renta gown that piqued netzien’s interest or even her acceptance speech, but rather an innocuous moment caught by MTV’s cameras during the official proceedings.
What Did Selena Gomez Do At The MTV VMAs 2023?
Footage of Selena Gomez reacting to Chris Brown’s nominations at the 2023 MTV VMAs went viral on TikTok and X (formerly known as Twitter) as she seemingly appeared disgruntled as Brown’s name was read out.
In a video, which you can see below, Gomez was captured scrunching her nose as Brown’s name was announced as part of his category nomination.
Selena Gomez reacting to Chris Brown being nominated at the #VMAs. pic.twitter.com/ngx4Ep8aD5
— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 13, 2023
It’s understood that Gomez’s reaction may signal her disapproval of the disgraced rapper being included in the ceremony. In 2009, Brown pled guilty to domestic assault after abusing his then-girlfriend, Rihanna. Since the altercation, Brown has reportedly been accused of assault by numerous women over the last decade and a half.
Gomez was also captured appearing shocked and concerned after Olivia Rodrigo’s performance of her single “Vampire” was plagued by technical difficulties and stage malfunctions.
Footage from the event cut to Only Murders In The Building star covering her ears after an amp appeared to blow up and Rodrigo hastily rushed off-stage. Explaining the incident, which was believed to be a stunt calculated by Rodrigo as a homage to the “Vampire” music video—which would’ve been meta if communicated to concerned attendees—Gomez wrote on TikTok: “I heard a loud noise and it scared me.”
What Has Selena Gomez Said About The MTV VMAs 2023?
Following the event, the Rare Beauty founder took to social media to condemn those turning her reactions into a viral moment.
“I will never be a meme again,” wrote the 31-year-old. “I’d rather sit still than be dragged for being myself. Much love,” she added. It’s clear based on her response that she’s not taking the vitriol lying down.
In the weeks leading up to the event, Gomez became the subject of a viral news story after a photo of herself looking idle while wrapped in a blanket started trending.
Typically, Gomez herself has been on to let us in on the joke, with the star even resharing some hilarious tweets poking fun at herself after the blanket incident.
In the past, Gomez has also self-referenced her biggest beauty blunders, including releasing a lamination-rivalling brow gel following her public ‘brow gate’ dispute with Hailey Bieber and Kylie Jenner, or captioning a video of her leaving the 2018 Met Gala “Me when I saw my pictures from MET 🤷🏽♀️” in reference to her over tanning fiasco.
