During the 2023 VMAs, Selena Gomez's animated — or noticeably non-animated — face went viral a number of times.
This year's show was all about celebrating music, of course, but it was also all about sticking cameras in front of the famous attendees' faces and hoping for the best.
Read more: A backstage fight and 'drunk Taylor': Mamamia recaps the 2023 MTV VMAs.
With Gomez's bestie Taylor Swift, they struck gold: Swift danced, chugged drinks, cheered and fangirled from her very active corner of the stage, with quite literally her every moment captured and sent viral by viewers on X (formally known as Twitter... sigh).
On the other side, Gomez, seated next to her 'Calm Down' collaborator Rema, looked to be having less fun. Still, Gomez has also gone viral, but it wasn't for shaking her hips to Shakira.
After the show — and maybe even after a Diddy-hosted after-party *with* her best friend — Gomez uploaded an Instagram Story which (we... presume) addressed her VMA reactions going viral.
"I will never be a meme again," she wrote. "I'd rather sit still than be dragged for being myself. Much love."
It's not completely clear what she's talking about - but Gomez was criticised throughout the show for staying in her seat a lot of the time.
At the beginning of the show, a clip of her covering her ear and looking concerned during Olivia Rodrigo's performance was shared around social media like it was a diss, when contextually, she was reacting to a surprise set collapse planned as part of Rodrigo's skit.
