Beauty

Selena Gomez Showed Her Kidney Transplant Scar On Instagram & Her Caption Is Everything

by Theresa Massony
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images

In a Sept. 24 post on Instagram, Selena Gomez showed her kidney transplant scar in a photo of her posing in swimsuit. In the photo, Gomez opens her right leg to reveal a scar on the upper, inner portion of her thigh, just below the lower hem of her bathing suit. It seems, since her transplant, she was adamant about not showing the scar at all.

"When I got my kidney transplant, I remember it being very difficult at first showing my scar. I didn’t want it to be in photos, so I wore things that would cover it up," Gomez captioned her post embracing her scar. "Now, more than ever, I feel confident in who I am and what I went through...and I’m proud of that."

The light blue, zip-up one-piece swimsuit Gomez wears in her Instagram post is from L.A.-based swimwear brand LA'MARIETTE, a size-inclusive swimwear brand founded by Gomez's BFF and assistant, Theresa Marie Lingus. Later in her caption, Gomez celebrated LA'MARIETTE's commitment to celebrating bodies of all shapes and sizes. "T - Congratulations on what you’re doing for women, launching @lamariette whose message is just that...all bodies are beautiful," she wrote.

Gomez underwent a kidney transplant surgery as part of her treatment for Lupus in 2017. On Sept. 14, 2017, to the surprise of fans who were wondering why she'd been so quiet on social media for several months, Gomez revealed in an Instagram post that she'd been recovering from a kidney transplant, donated to her by her friend Francia Raisa.

"I’m very aware some of my fans had noticed I was laying low for part of the summer and questioning why I wasn’t promoting my new music, which I was extremely proud of," Gomez captioned her post at the time. "So I found out I needed to get a kidney transplant due to my Lupus and was recovering. It was what I needed to do for my overall health."

Gomez continues to advocate for Lupus research and encourages all her fans to embrace themselves exactly as they are, particularly through the messaging of her newly launched beauty brand, Rare Beauty.