Selena Gomez has revealed she sometimes gets ‘triggered’ when she is reminded of her past as a Disney star and finally feels ‘free’ from it.
The actress, 30, first appeared on screen as a child in Barney Friends but she found wider fame when starring in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place from 2007 to 2012.
Appearing in Vanity Fair’s annual Hollywood issue, Selena said she has worked hard to seperate herself from her time with the family friendly brand.
She said: ‘I definitely feel free of it. Sometimes I get triggered. It’s not that I’m ashamed of my past, it’s just that I’ve worked so hard to find my own way. I don’t want to be who I was. I want to be who I am.’
Selena also appeared in the Wizards of Waverly Place film and released music through Hollywood Records which also signed several other Disney stars including Hilary Duff, Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers.
Candid: Selena Gomez has revealed she sometimes gets ‘triggered’ when she is reminded of her past as a Disney star and finally feels ‘free’ from it
Limelight: The actress, 30, first appeared on screen as a child in Barney Friends but she found wider fame when starring in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place from 2007 to 2012
The star also said there were times during the early years of her career when she was told she couldn’t say or do certain things.
She said: ‘I wasn’t a wild child by any means, but I was on Disney, so I had to make sure not to say ‘What the hell?’ in front of anyone. It’s stuff that I was also putting on myself to be the best role model I could be.
‘Now I think being the best role model is being honest, even with the ugly and complicated parts of yourself.’
Selena previously told People she felt a lot of pressure to be ‘perfect’ while on the show as she was seen as a role model for young people.
She said: ‘I still live with this haunting feeling that people still view me as this Disney girl. That was my job in a way—to be perfect. You’re considered a figure kids look up to, and they take that seriously there.’
Elsewhere during her Vanity Fair interview, Selena was asked what advice she would give to a young person starting out in Hollywood now.
Not mincing her words, she said: ‘All I can say is, I would love to be there for you if you ever have questions. But this industry is a beast. It’s really scary to see what happens when you’re given so much power and money at a young age. I think it’s extremely scary.’
Selena added young people should be careful about who they trust and expressed relief that her sister Gracie, nine, has shown no interest in getting into the industry.
Selena said: ‘I definitely feel free of it. Sometimes I get triggered. It’s not that I’m ashamed of my past, it’s just that I’ve worked so hard to find my own way’
The singer also discussed going public with her bipolar diagnosis in her documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind Me.
The star said she doesn’t feel ashamed of her diagnosis and said the film has allowed her to ‘be open about everything’.
Vanity Fair’s Hollywood issue, which also features Florence Pugh, Emma Corrin and Austin Butler, is out now.
