You don't have to stay broken: Why Selena Gomez's AMAs speech matters

Singer Selena Gomez, who bagged the 2016 Favourite Pop/Rock Female Artist award at the American Music Awards (AMA) here, spoke about her personal struggles in her acceptance speech. This was her first appearance in public after spending time in rehab to deal with anxiety and depression, which are the side effects of the auto-immune disease she suffers from, Lupus. Talking about her stint away from the public eye and her gigantic fanbase on social media, Selena said that she "doesn't need validation anymore".

"In 2014, this stage was actually the first time that I was authentically 100 per cent honest with you," she started her speech at the ceremony, held on Sunday, referring to her AMAs performance of The Heart Wants What it Wants.

"I think it's safe to say that a lot of you know a lot of my life whether I liked it or not and I had to stop... Because I had everything, and I was absolutely broken. And I kept it together and I swore I would never let you down, but I kept it too much together to where I let myself down. I'm not trying to get validation, nor do I need it anymore," Gomez said during her speech.

Choking back tears while delivering her speech, Gomez said: "If you are broken, you don't have to stay broken."

Her speech portrays the heartbreaking reality of what social media addiction and fame can do to a celebrity. Hear the full speech here: