A supportive friend? Selena Gomez’s friend Raquelle Stevens was called out by some netizens to be “toxic.” The Wizard of Waverly Place alum’s friend was featured in Selena’s Apple TV+ documentary My Mind & Me and fans took to the internet to react to their “odd” friendship.
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me is a documentary that follows singer Selena Gomez for six years of her life starting from 2015. The documentary focuses on Selena’s mental health after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and her Revival world tour. Fans of Selena and her show Selena + Chef should be pretty familiar with her friendship with podcaster Raquelle Stevens; the Giving Back Generation host even supported her friend by posting about her involvement in Selena’s documentary. “Grateful to have been a part of this project the past few years. Thank you @selenagomez for having the courage to be so vulnerable and @alekkeshishian our friendship has been such a blessing throughout this entire process. Can’t wait for everyone to see it Nov 4 on @appletvplus.” However, fans lashed out on the internet about how she treated Selena in the documentary.
So who exactly is Raquelle Stevens? Read down below to see who she is and read about her relationship with Selena Gomez.
Who is Raquelle Stevens?
Who is Raquelle Stevens? Raquelle Stevens is a podcast host, author, and one of Selena’s friends in her inner circle. Selena’s friends also include Ashley Cook and Courtney Lopez, and all four of them have a matching “4” tattoo. On Raquelle’s podcast, Giving Back Generation, Selena revealed why she wanted to go on her friend’s podcast to discuss their friendship. “When we decided to do this, it’s because I want there to be more friendships like this. …I hope what the takeaway from this as well is that we just want — I want to be an example of friendship and what it can look like, and the importance.”
In another episode of the podcast, Selena revealed how her friends helped her with her mental health. “I think what I’ve learned over my journey specifically—and by the way, it’s been up and down—you guys have been my friends for over a decade now so you understand those moments in my life, and I have to say that my friendships really did save me in a huge way and it was because A) I was aware of who I’m surrounding myself with,” she said. “So the people in my life are lovely people, people who have substance, who live normal lives and have priorities and responsibilities that I might not have. I have different sets of responsibilities, and it’s so wonderful and so important to be able to pick up the phone and call someone who you respect, that you honor their opinion and that aren’t just going to tell you the things you want to hear.”
The “Lose You to Love Me” singer also explained why her friends’ truths helped her make the right choice when making decisions. “They’re going to tell you the things that—you know, they’re going to hear you, of course. They’re going to tell you how much they love you, but at the end of the day, if I make a mistake or I feel like I’m going down a wrong path mentally, it’s really important for me to pick up the phone and call someone that I know and trust. And it’s truly changed my life through this whole pandemic. I think we got so close and all we had was each other, and that was enough for me, and that’s when I realized, ‘Oh, life is a lot, you know,’ and you have to have the people that you live it with be good for you.”
As well as the documentary that recently came out, Raquelle also wrote a book with Tanya Rad. The book titled The Sunshine Mind is coming out in January 2023 and focuses on mental health and faith. In an Instagram post where she promoted the book, she shared, “We hope The Sunshine Mind becomes a best friend for you. We hope it brings you steadiness. We pray it restores hope in your heart in the places where you may have lost it. We pray that this book – and the sunshine mindset – creates a beautiful community of people who want to live life through hope-colored glasses.”
When did Selena Gomez meet Raquelle Stevens?
When did Selena Gomez meet Raquelle Stevens? It’s not confirmed when the two met, but they have been friends for over a decade. To celebrate the actress’s 30th birthday, Raquelle posted on her Instagram with the four friends posing together, “Decade of life together, so grateful! Happy 30th Selly we love you so much .”
What did Raquelle Stevens do in Selena Gomez’s documentary?
What did Raquelle Stevens do in Selena Gomez’s documentary? Many fans thought that Raquelle’s treatment of Selena was pretty odd and social media was flooded with their reactions. One fan who spotted her behavior tweeted, “just because raquelle has been through everything with selena, it doesn’t take away that she can be so toxic, dismissive, controlling, and passive aggressive towards selena.”
In one specific scene where Selena is nervous before giving a speech at McLean Psychiatric Hospital about mental health struggles, Raquelle walks into the room and ignores Selena. The Wizards of Waverly Place alum was seemingly baffled by her friend’s behavior as depicted in her facial expression. One fan tweeted, “A certified Raquelle Stevens hater after watching this Selena documentary, truly the oddest behavior.”
Throughout the documentary, fans started to speculate on how Raquelle was a “toxic” friend. In one scene, the friends are on a philanthropic trip to Africa and Selena says that she enjoys the time she’s there. However, Raquelle interrupted her and said that it wasn’t real. TikTok user @laurenisgossip shared her feelings about the scene specifically, “I know a lot of people thought this was nice when Raquelle said this to her, but I thought it was condescending.”
Another scene in particular that showed off the same dynamic was when Selena didn’t want to go to a birthday party when she came home to LA from London. Selena had a music video shoot the next day and expressed her need to rest, however, Raquelle didn’t really acknowledge it. Selena questioned her friend, “Do you think that I’m complaining about my job?” Raquelle responded, “Yeah, you sounded like you were.” One fan tweeted about the scene, “That whole scene with Raquelle was insane. I have a heart condition and for me just doing ONE outing can be physically exhausting. Selena has a medical condition, severe jet lag, and wants to take care of her body and somehow that’s UNGRATEFUL?”
During the credits, Raquelle was credited with a “special appearance” separate from the rest of the cast. A fan tweeted, “special appearance by raquelle stevens” lol she’s not a celebrity she’s just selena’s friend ”
Though Raquelle seemed to have a lot of backlash about how she was portrayed in the documentary, other fans defended her for being a supportive friend, particularly of how challenging being supportive of friends with mental illness can be at times. “Watching the @selenagomez documentary, and frankly Raquelle Stevens is such a deep and emotionally intelligent person. She really guided Selena through some very difficult moments,” one fan tweeted. Another fan praised Raquelle on Twitter, “Raquelle is incredible, she has understood Selena Gomez all this time, supporting her in everything and being very understanding. thanks Raquelle ”
What was Selena Gomez’s response to the Raquelle Stevens backlash?
What was Selena Gomez’s response to the Raquelle Stevens backlash? In a TikTok from December 26, 2022, Selena recorded a video with herself and a friend. When Raquelle pops her head into the frame, she says: “Oh, this is cute!” Selena turns towards Raquelle and tells her, “I didn’t want you in the video.” The other friend then tells Raquelle to “get out” and she left while Selena and her other pal are left smiling.
@selenagomez It’s a joke.
https://www.tiktok.com/embed.js
Understandably, the comments section went wild. Selena had to clarify that it was a “joke” in the comments section after fans began speculating Selena was poking fun at her and Raquelle’s relationship, which started after the release of Selena’s documentary My Mind & Me. Some believed there was tension between the two friends, with some even calling Raquelle “toxic” even though the pair are best friends.
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me is available to stream on Apple TV Plus. Here’s how to watch it for free.
Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.
Source: Stylecaster.com
Be First to Comment