The year 2020 has been a big one for Selena Gomez.
Gomez launched her own makeup line Rare Beauty, exercised her right to vote, and used her platform to amplify the voices of Black Lives Matter and Black Trans Circles.
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“I don’t feel like Rare Beauty would have been [possible] three or four years ago,” Gomez tells People for the publication’s “People of the Year” issue. “I understand now how it feels to be on the other side, comparing myself or thinking I need to look more like this or more like that to fit in.
“It can take a toll on you, for sure. We’re not all a certain way, and we’re not meant to be. It’s fair to say that I am 1,000 per cent on the journey with the consumers,” she adds. “It’s not easy for everybody, and I want people to know they’re not alone.”
Earlier this year, Gomez handed the keys to her Instagram, which boasts 195 million followers, to Black Lives Matter co-creator Alicia Garza and Black Trans Circles founder Raquel Willis.
“That was a no-brainer,” the multi-faceted entertainer says in the magazine’s cover story. “It made sense for me to learn, and learn from the best people.”
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Gomez, 28, also exercised her right to vote for the first time in 2020. The “Wizards of Waverly Place” alum used her massive social media following to back the likes of vice-president-elect Kamala Harris, former first lady Michelle Obama and Fair Fight founder Stacey Abrams.
“I’ve had a sliver of dealing with [racism] growing up, especially with my dad [who is Mexican]. When it came to telling people to vote, I felt like it was my duty,” she says. “Witnessing strong women who have walked journeys that I couldn’t imagine walking was such a pinch-me moment, and I’m just very grateful.”
