Flavor Flav Sends Message to Selena Gomez After Backlash
Rapper Flavor Flav has called Selena Gomez "one of the strongest and most beautiful people inside and out" after she spoke out against people body-shaming her online.
On October 29, Only Murders in the Building star Gomez attended a special screening her new movie Emilia Perez in Los Angeles. She was photographed wearing a black dress with ruched fabric and in some images shared online, she could be seen holding her hands in front of her stomach.
This led to scrutiny and speculation online, with one TikTok user assuming the actor and singer was trying to hide her stomach after attending a different event the day before. On October 28, Gomez attended the premiere of Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.
Per a screenshot shared by the Daily Mail, Gomez responded in the comment section of the since-deleted video, writing: "This makes me sick. I have [SIBO, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth] in my small intestine. It flares up. I don't care that I don't look like a stick figure. I don't have that body. End of story. No I am NOT a victim. I'm just human."
Reacting to Gomez speaking up, Flavor Flav—whose given name is William Jonathan Drayton Jr.—took to X, formerly Twitter , to share a statement of his own.
Sharing a photo of Gomez in a black gown as well as tagging her, the Public Enemy star expressed his admiration for her "clapping back" at her detractors.
"I don't know her personally," Flavor Flav began his post on Monday. "But Selena Gomez is one of the STRONGEST and MOST BEAUTIFUL people inside and out. I applaud her for being so open about her health and mental health. And I applaud her even more for clapping back at haterz,,, but she shouldn't have to."
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Gomez and Flavor Flav via email for further comment.
Gomez, who confirmed in 2015 that she had been diagnosed with lupus, has been open about her health issues in the past. In 2020, she revealed that she is living with bipolar disorder. In a September interview with Vanity Fair, the star revealed that she is unable to carry children due to various medical issues .
In her Vanity Fair interview, Gomez discussed her experience with opening up to the world about her mental health.
"I like to remind people that that is definitely nowhere close to where I am now. My mind was not right and chemically imbalanced, and it was really difficult," she said.
"People were calling me a victim. That frustrates me, because being vulnerable is actually one of the strongest things you can do. That narrative is not going to take over my life. I'm grateful every day. And I have my days like everyone else, but I'm no victim. I just survived a lot. There isn't a part of me that wants anyone to feel sorry for me."
What Is SIBO?
According to Mayo Clinic, SIBO occurs "when there is an abnormal increase in the overall bacterial population in the small intestine—particularly types of bacteria not commonly found in that part of the digestive tract."
The condition is often caused by surgery or disease, which can slow "the passage of food and waste products in the digestive tract, creating a breeding ground for bacteria. The excess bacteria often cause diarrhea and may cause weight loss and malnutrition."
While sometimes surgery is needed to help with SIBO, the medical center states that antibiotics are the most common treatment.
"SIBO isn't just miserable, but it can have significant downstream health effects and increase the risk of other conditions like insulin resistance, diabetes, autoimmune conditions such as Hashimotos, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, hormonal imbalances, and other digestive conditions," Kaytee Hadley, a functional medicine dietitian, SIBO specialist, and founder of the insurance-based private practice Holistic Health and Wellness, previously told Newsweek.
"SIBO is treatable, but it cannot be gotten rid of through a healthy diet alone and requires an individualized approach with a knowledgeable healthcare provider ... I cannot stress enough the importance of working with a SIBO specialist, as treatment is not straightforward and can take many months of targeted interventions."
