Selena Gomez Shares Why She Gets 'Triggered' By Her Disney Past

Selena Gomez graced the cover of Vanity Fair's 29th annual Hollywood Issue and dished about everything from her past as a child actor to her highly-anticipated new music. During the interview, the star revealed that she sometimes gets "triggered" by her past on the Disney Channel.

"I definitely feel free of it. 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," the former Wizards of Waverly Place star explained. "I don't want to be who I was. I want to be who I am." Selena continued,  "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. It's stuff that I was also putting on myself to be the best role model I could be. Now I think being the best role model is being honest, even with the ugly and complicated parts of yourself."

As for her new music, Selena shared, “The music I’m doing right now is about real things that I’m walking through. It’s really powerful, strong, very pop. The theme generally is freedom—freedom from relationships, freedom from the darkness." The singer has been teasing what will be her first new album since 2020's Rare since last year. Earlier this year she shared a cryptic post that fans took to mean she'll be announcing a new album sometime soon.

Gomez opened up about the special experience in a heartfelt Instagram post. "I remember being a little girl picking up these special editions of @vanityfair covers dreaming I would be apart of such a talented, inspiring, captivating, game-changing and wonderful group of actors/entertainers," she wrote. "@vanityfair thank you for making this girls dream a reality. ALSO the coolest peeps to be with! @florencepugh @ana_d_armas Jonathan Majors @austinbutler PLUS more."