Selena Gomez Clarifies Why She Looked So Concerned During Olivia Rodrigo’s VMAs Performance
Gomez’s distressed facial expression quickly went viral during the show
Olivia Rodrigo’s blowout performance at Tuesday night’s MTV Video Music Awards left a lot of people confused.
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Halfway through the 20-year-old starlet’s performance, the stage appeared to malfunction, with a lighting rig collapsing from the ceiling and pyrotechnics exploding as Rodrigo was briefly ushered offstage. The malfunction, however, was intentional, nodding to a similar scene from the singer’s music video for recent single “Vampire.”
Still, the stunt left many in the audience looking concerned. Fans quickly circulated screenshots and video footage of the reaction from Selena Gomez, who was spotted widening her eyes and holding one hand over her ear during the performance.
Now, the Only Murders in the Building star has shut down any speculation over her facial expression during Rodrigo’s performance.
Commenting underneath a BuzzFeed Celeb Instagram post about the incident, Gomez wrote, “I heard a loud noise and it scared me.”
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Photo: @buzzfeedceleb Instagram
This isn’t the first time Gomez has spoken up about her facial expressions going viral after the 2023 VMAs.
After the ceremony, the actor wrote on her Instagram story, “I will never be a meme again. I’d rather sit still than be dragged for being myself. Much love.”
Under another Instagram post that featured Gomez’s seemingly disgruntled reaction to Chris Brown’s nomination being announced during the awards show, she commented, “Who cares lol.”
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It was also a big night for the Emmy-nominated actor. She and Nigerian singer and rapper Rema took home the Best Afrobeats VMA for their collaboration on “Calm Down.” The duo additionally earned nominations in the categories of Song of the Year and Best Collaboration.
This article originally appeared in Harper’s BAZAAR US.