Selena Gomez made her first public appearance in months Sunday night at the American Music Awards, where she accepted a statue for Favorite Female Artist. In an emotional acceptance speech, Selena acknowledged the break she’s taken from public life. “I had to stop,” she said. “Because I had everything. And I was absolutely broken inside. I kept it all together enough to where I would never let you down, but I kept it too much together to where I let myself down.” She then went on to encourage her young fans to take inspiration from her experience, and to thank them for their unwavering support. “I don’t want to see your bodies on Instagram. I want to see what’s in here,” she said, touching her heart. “I’m not trying to get validation nor do I need it anymore. All I can say from the bottom of my heart is I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to be able to share what I love every single day with people that I love and 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. But if you are broken, you do not have to stay broken. And if that’s anything whether you respect me or not that’s one thing you need to know about me is that I care about people.”
Lady Gaga reacted in much the same we did. Watch her priceless response to Selena’s heartfelt speech below.
