--- title: Selena Gomez on Her Career Break During AMAs Speech description: At the American Music Awards, Selena Gomez made her first public appearance since taking a career break to focus on her emotional health. canonical: https://time.com/4578196/selena-gomez-amas-music/ author: Entertainment Weekly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-11-21T08:42:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:54:57.164Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Selena Gomez Gives an Emotional Speech During AMAs og:description: "I was absolutely broken inside," she said og:url: https://time.com/4578196/selena-gomez-amas-music/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd26935f8f096e85/6988af2d2dce0108889eb7e2/gettyimages-624774672.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5568 og:image:height: 3132 og:image:alt: 2016 American Music Awards - Roaming Show og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Selena Gomez Gives an Emotional Speech During AMAs twitter:description: "I was absolutely broken inside," she said twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbd26935f8f096e85/6988af2d2dce0108889eb7e2/gettyimages-624774672.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Selena Gomez Speaks Out About Her Career Break During Emotional AMAs Speech > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Selena Gomez on Bieber, Twitter and Tap Water [Watch (HLS stream): Selena Gomez on Bieber, Twitter and Tap Water](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/CdNffME8.m3u8) (4:43)  _Published 2011-06-28. Disney star Selena Gomez talks about her upcoming film, the Twitter backlash from dating Justin Bieber and the pressures of celebrity as a teen_ by [Jessica Goodman / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Jessica Goodman / Entertainment Weekly Nov 21, 2016 8:42 AM UTC  Recording artist Selena Gomez accepts the award for Favorite Femal Pop/Rock Artist onstage at the 2016 American Music Awards on Nov. 20, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Recording artist Selena Gomez accepts the award for Favorite Femal Pop/Rock Artist onstage at the 2016 American Music Awards on Nov. 20, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. Jeff Kravitz—AMA2016/FilmMagic/Getty Images by [Jessica Goodman / Entertainment Weekly](https://time.com/author/entertainment-weekly/) ## Jessica Goodman / Entertainment Weekly Nov 21, 2016 8:42 AM UTC At Sunday’s American Music Awards, Selena Gomez made her first public appearance since taking a career break to focus on her emotional health. After [appearing on the red carpet](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/11/20/amas-2016-selena-gomez-red-carpet), Gomez was [awarded a trophy](http://ew.com/article/2016/11/20/amas-2016-winners) for Favorite Female Artist – Pop/ Rock and used her acceptance speech to send an emotional message to fans and critics. “I think it’s safe to say that all of you know my life whether I like it or not,” she said. “I had to stop because I had everything and I was absolutely broken inside. I kept it all together enough to where I would never let you down but I kept it too much together to where I let myself down.” She continued: “I don’t want to see your bodies on Instagram. I want to see what’s in here \[holds chest\]. I’m not trying to get validation nor do I need it anymore.” Gomez then thanked fans for staying “loyal” to her during her break. “If you are broken, you do not have to stay broken,” she said, near tears. When Gomez announced her break in August, she [told _PEOPLE_](http://people.com/music/amas-2016-selena-gomez-first-public-appearance-after-break/): “As many of you know, around a year ago I revealed that I have lupus, an illness that can affect people in different ways. I’ve discovered that anxiety, panic attacks and depression can be side effects of lupus, which can present their own challenges.” She then said she was taking “time off” to be “proactive and focus on maintaining my health and happiness.” The break followed the release of her [2015 album _Revival_](http://www.ew.com/article/2015/10/09/confident-demi-lovato-ew-review) and [subsequent tour](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/05/04/selena-gomez-revival-tour-interview). Read the full transcript of her speech: --- > “” --- **_Gifts:_** [**_The 100 Most Influential Images of All Time_**](http://shop.time.com/storefront/subscribe-to-time/link/1039114.html?xid=cm-TIMEShopscTIMEArticle) _This_ [_article_ ](http://www.ew.com/article/2016/11/20/amas-2016-selena-gomez-speech)_originally appeared on_ [_ew.com_](http://www.ew.com/) ## Transcript Hi, I'm Belinda Luscombe, I'm Editor at Large at Time Magazine. We have today the star of the movie Monte Carlo, Selena Gomez. It's me, Cordelia. Yes, I'm still in Paris. Mother's forcing me to go to some charity thing to repair my rep. I don't know. Polar bears, hungry people. This movie is actually a little more like your life. Cordelia has a lot of problems with the tabloids. Yeah. That's one of her. How is that something, how does that affect your life? Because obviously, there's a lot of tabloid interest in you, especially since you started dating Justin Bieber. Does it limit the way that you live? Sort of. Yes. But at the same time I I can't be afraid to continue to live my life, because I'm only 18. But I also know that people are watching, so I try to just focus on the things that make me happy. Try to focus on my fans, and my music, and my film, and things that I can continue to focus on. It's a tricky business. The guys, Justin Timberlake, Justin Bieber, the Jonas Brothers. They don't have the same pressures on them. Do you feel that there's a double standard? Yeah, yeah. I also think that guys get more attractive, the older they get. And and I think that's unfair. [ LAUGH ] But no. Of course, [ INAUDIBLE ] I think, sometimes, they, it is a little bit different for them. But I, I think I kinda of have it better, to be honest. I I think, sometimes, fans for male singers, or pop stars, or actors, can be a little crazy, because they I was that way with like Justin McCartney and N'Sync. If I ever saw them I would probably pass out, and I would freak out and scream. And what I love about my fans is that, I could probably have lunch with every single one of my fans. I'd probably sit down and talk to them and have like a really cool conversation, which I've done before with my fans. Speaking of people with crazy fans, when it first became public that you were dating Justin, the Twitter- verse lit up with, kind of, adolescent angst that Justin was taken. Now as a young woman, it's got to be weird to have people talking about you in that way to the public. I mean. Half of these girls who are saying things would ever say it to someones face. The idea and illusion is you can say whatever you want. However you want. The meanest thing you can say. And nobody at the end of the day will know it's you. And I am human, so of course it hurts my feelings. And I don't like reading it. But ultimately, I eventually have gotten to the point where I laugh at it. And I have incredible fans. And I'm really happy. Your good friend, Demi Lovato, recently withdrew from her tour. And went off her show, and sought help for some issues she's having. When you look at what's happening with Demi. Then, do you think, gosh. Do I have to look to myself and worry. I mean, you've been up since five this morning. You know? You're in Dallas on the weekend, and Santa Monica on Friday. Is there a point at which, I know your mom was looking out for you but. And you did actually have to go to hospital recently recently so. Yeah. Is there, you're only 18, is there a kind of. Do you ever go, I might be getting close to my breaking point here sometimes. Yeah. I feel that way. It's a lot of pressure. But I enjoy it. So it's all, it's, it's all about, I guess it's all about how you, you handle it. It can, it can get crazy, and there are moments where I can get really weak and just wanna give up for a minute. And, those are the moments where I can, I can say I need to stop. I have those moments, but I, I guess I've been lucky so far. Catch my health part, but I'm getting better still. Glad to hear it. You're also selling, auctioning, whatever, your tap water. I just want to verify, this is actually from your tap? Yeah. [ CROSSTALK ] It's crazy, yeah, it's so crazy. They they told me about the, the tap campaign. And I thought it was really fun and, and different. It's a little odd to sell your water, but it made sense at the same time cuz it also encourages you to use tap water, I suppose. Are you getting competitive? Like you want more, to sell more of your tap water than some other [ INAUDIBLE ]. [ LAUGH ] no, so far I haven't gotten competitive. I'm just glad that a bunch of celebrities signed on to do it, cuz that means a lot of them want to help, which is cool. Thanks very much Selena Gomez. 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