It had been several months since Selena Gomez made a public appearance. The "Revival" singer took a step back from the spotlight a few months ago for self-care. But on Sunday night, at the American Music Awards, Gomez used her spotlight to give an emotional thanks to her fans for their support — and to remind them that "if you're broken, you don't have to stay broken."
While accepting the AMA for best pop rock female performance, Gomez took to the stage and said, "In 2014, this stage was actually the first time that I was authentically, 100% honest with all of you."
She told her fans, "I think it's safe to say most of you know a lot of my life, whether I liked it or not," which made a few in the audience chuckle. But her speech turned sobering with a powerful message.
"I had to stop," Gomez said. "Because I had everything. And I was absolutely broken inside. I kept it all together enough where I would never let you down. But I kept it too much together to where I let myself down."
With a trembling voice, Gomez said, "I'm not trying to get validation, nor do I need it anymore." Gomez also told fans, who might be battling their own demons, that "if you are broken, you do not have to stay broken."
In the past, Selena Gomez has spoken about her issues with mental health, which are related to her struggle with lupus. She was reportedly in rehab in October.
Before walking away, Gomez thanked her fans from the bottom of her heart. She said, "I have to say thank you so much to my fans because you guys are so damn loyal and I don't know what I did to deserve you."