Selena Gomez is opening up about a painful side effect of her lupus: arthritis in her fingers. The singer and actress shared on the Good Hang with Amy Poehler podcast that lupus arthritis once made everyday tasks—like opening a water bottle—“hurt really bad.”
Gomez, who was diagnosed with lupus in 2013, has spoken openly about the challenges of living with the autoimmune disease. Lupus can cause widespread inflammation that leads to joint pain, stiffness, and reduced mobility. For Gomez, that pain showed up in her hands, making it hard to do simple, daily activities.
Instead of keeping that struggle private, Gomez turned her experience into inspiration for her beauty brand, Rare Beauty. Knowing how difficult packaging can be for people with dexterity issues, she worked to make products more inclusive. For example, Rare Beauty’s new perfume bottle ditches the typical twist-off cap in favor of an easy press-and-spray mechanism.
“I remember, before the brand, I was trying to open a water bottle and it hurt really bad, before I was on the right medication,” Gomez explained. Her goal was to design products that aren’t just beautiful, but also accessible for people who live with lupus arthritis and other conditions that affect the hands.
Selena Gomez’s story highlights a reality many lupus patients face: symptoms don’t always stop at fatigue or organ involvement. Lupus arthritis is common and can make the simplest tasks difficult. But Gomez’s advocacy shows how lived experience can spark real change—not only in the beauty industry, but in the way we think about inclusive design.
