- Selena Gomez opened up about the side effect of Lupus that impacts her life.
- The Only Murders in the Building star said arthritis affects her ability to use her hands.
- “I was trying to open a water bottle, and it hurt really bad before I was on the right medication.”
Selena Gomez is getting candid about how lupus continues to affect her daily life—and the particular symptom that has impacted her career in an unexpected way.
The Only Murders in the Building star recently chatted with Amy Poehler on her podcast, Good Hang with Amy Poehler. The conversation eventually turned to Gomez’s Rare Beauty brand and the easily accessible packaging they use for all their products, as well as how Gomez’s own health challenges played a part.
“I have arthritis in my fingers, and that’s due to my lupus,” she revealed. “So, I remember, before the brand, I was trying to open a water bottle, and it hurt really bad, before I was on the right medication.”
Gomez went on to share that her Rare Beauty team “inherently made the products easy to open” before realizing that it was actually a necessity.
“And then we started to make every product with the intention of anybody who has dexterity problems,” she continued.
What Gomez described is a common complication of lupus—but it’s similar to a more common condition known as osteoarthritis. This occurs due to the protective cartilage in joints gradually breaking down, which may lead to pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. In other words, it’s wear and tear on the joints over time.
But when arthritis is linked to lupus, it’s caused by inflammation. Rather than cartilage simply wearing away, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues, which then creates inflammation inside the joints.
The symptoms of both osteoarthritis and lupus-related arthritis largely overlap, although the latter can show up at any age and is more likely to impact younger people. They can also shift from one part of the body to another and flare unpredictably.
Gomez has spoken candidly about both her physical and mental health issues over the years, and hearing that her own personal struggles influenced the accessibility of her brand doesn’t come as a surprise.
“I know that might seem like a little thing, but it’s really not,” she said, “because it’s actually so helpful for anyone at any age to be able to use the products. That’s why we wanted to make them easy and accessible because it’s important to me and it always has been.”
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