One phrase Disney banned Selena Gomez from saying
Former Disney starlet Selena Gomez claims the company “explicitly told” her never to utter this one simple phrase in public.
Selena Gomez claims that Disney “explicitly told” her to not say the phrase “What the hell?” during her years a Disney starlet.
“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,” the entertainer, 30, told Vanity Fair for their 2023 Hollywood issue, out this week.
Gomez explained that she was “putting” pressure on herself to be “the best role model” she could be while starring on Wizards of Waverly Place as Alex Russo from 2007 to 2012.
“Now I think being the best role model is being honest, even with the ugly and complicated parts of yourself,” she shared.
Gomez also clarified in the interview that after candidly describing her mental health journey in her Apple TV+ documentary, My Mind and Me, she’s no longer “haunted by the idea that people would always associate” her with Disney.
“I definitely feel free of it,” the actress said. “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.”
The Lose You to Love Me songstress has previously talked about her evolution since being a Disney star and even made headlines for saying she “signed my life away.”
“I signed my life away to Disney at a very young age and I didn’t know what I was doing,” Gomez said in August 2021. “What I’d say is the level of sophistication of the material is the first reason why I wanted to do this.”
However, shortly after the subtle shade, Gomez clarified that she was “beyond proud” of the work she had done with Disney.
“It kind of shaped who I am in a way,” the Rare Beauty founder previously said, adding that she “definitely” didn’t have any hesitation to join the cast of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu – one of Disney’s streaming services.
Page Six has reached out to Disney for comment.
This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.
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