Selena Gomez Says Nicotine Vaping Changed Her Voice: 'It's Not Worth It'

By Daniel Okafor

Selena Gomez says heavy nicotine vaping has permanently changed her voice. She delivered the news herself, in a roughly one-minute video posted to her Instagram Story on Sunday.

Gomez, 34, didn't soften the verdict. "I'm not going to be able to change my voice," she said. "I vaped nicotine a lot."

That's a rare admission from a singer whose instrument is the product. It's also, notably, a reversal. During an Instagram Live last December, fans asked repeatedly about her voice. Gomez blamed internal throat swelling at the time and didn't mention vaping once.

What did Gomez actually say?

Her message to fans was blunt and, in places, self-flagellating. "Nicotine is so hard to quit, and I think I just wanted to say, if you're going through it, or if you're even trying to vape, it's just not worth it," she said. "It's so stupid, and it's changed my voice."

She went further than the health PSA required. Gomez said she understood if some fans no longer enjoyed listening to her, and told them they were free to tune out. That's an unusual move for a pop star with a catalog to protect.

The singer said she has now quit and is "excited" to have stopped, though she conceded it was hard and that staying off nicotine remains a daily question. "But I know if you are going through something, you can get through it too," she said. "It sucks."

Why the disclosure lands differently for Gomez

Gomez has built a documented history of candor about her body. She has lupus, received a kidney transplant in 2017, and has spoken publicly about her bipolar disorder diagnosis, including in the 2022 documentary "Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me."

The career context matters too. Gomez stars in and executive produces the Hulu comedy "Only Murders in the Building" alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short. She also founded the cosmetics brand Rare Beauty in 2020. A voice change is an occupational hazard for one of those jobs; for the others, it's a footnote.

The disclosure also closes a small gap in the record. Fans had been asking about her voice for nearly a year. Now they have an answer, delivered without a publicist's gloss.

What happens next

"Only Murders" returns Dec. 8 for its sixth season, retitled "Only Murders in London," which relocates the action across the Atlantic. Gomez said she hopes to stay off nicotine. Given that she's the one narrating her own setbacks these days, don't expect the update to arrive via anyone but her.