Selena Gomez discusses lupus and events in personal life which led to her cancelling 2014 tour

‘I don’t ever really like to sit and dwell on what that experience was. Was it fun? No. Is it fun to have it? No,’ Gomez says

Selena Gomez (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

Selena Gomez has spoken frankly about her lupus illness and other situations in her personal life which forced her to take a break from touring two years ago.

Last year, Gomez revealed she was diagnosed with the auto-immune condition lupus which she underwent a course of chemotherapy for.

The diagnosis forced the singer to cancel planned tours in Australia and Asia. However, tabloid speculation and rumours instead wrongly suggested the former Disney star was receiving treatment in a rehab centre for drink or drugs. At the time, her representative told media outlets: “Selena voluntarily spent time at Meadows [rehab centre] but not for substance abuse.”

Gomez chose not to disclose her lupus condition then but spoke about it two years later in an interview with Billboard. She has not spoke about it much since.

However, when asked about her rehab visit again in a recent interview with GQ magazine, the 23-year-old set the record straight on the difficult time in her personal life which led her to take a break.

“First off, this is something that everyone always wants to fixate on”, she said. “I got diagnosed with lupus. My mum had a very public miscarriage. So I had to cancel my tour. I needed time to just be okay.”

“[…] I went to two different locations for those treatments. It’s really frustrating because I am 100 per cent allowed to have that.”

Gomez, who said she was in ICU for two and a half weeks with the illness, spoke about the effect it had on her.

“I don’t ever really like to sit and dwell on what that experience was. Was it fun? No. Is it fun to have it? No.”

Gomez appeared frustrated at discussing the illness again and explained: “My past seems to be way more fascinating for people than my future, which bums me out.”

Lupus is a poorly understood autoimmune conditions which causes the immune system to attack health cells. Some types of the condition just affect the skin but there is also a severe form, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) which affects the skin, joints and internal organs. Symptoms of SLE include fatigue, rashes and joint pain. The majority of people with the condition have a normal or near-normal life expectancy, according to the NHS.