Selena Gomez hopped on Instagram on Thursday (Oct. 29) to chat with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris to discuss Tuesday’s (Nov. 3) election, mental health and the singer’s battle with Lupus. “As a citizen, as someone who truly, truly cares about their country, not voting is just not an option,” Gomez said in the video.
“I had the opportunity to speak with Senator @kamalaharris and we discussed several issues that matter,” she said in a comment about their talk. “There is too much on the line this election for anyone to sit on the sidelines. We all must use our voices and vote. Vote EARLY, vote safely and try to vote in person or drop your ballot in a dropbox (that’s what I did and it couldn’t have been any easier). If you aren’t voting in person, please make sure you follow the instructions that come with your ballot carefully and do not forget to sign your ballot (it’s usually smart to use a blue or black ballpoint ink pen)! For more info to learn how and where to vote in your state go to IWillVote.com.”
The three-and-a-half minute conversation opened with Gomez saying she “wasn’t very educated” about voting when she was younger, but over the past four years she’s experienced a lot of things and realized that her vote counts more than ever. “You’ve been an incredible voice on the issues of Lupus, and that disproportionately effects women of color,” Harris said of the auto-immune disease the singer has been battling, and which she noted her sister also suffers from.
“And that’s one of the things that Joe and I are fighting for, which is to hold on to the Affordable Care Act and expand it, including what you’ve talked a lot about,” Harris said of the emphasis she and Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden are putting on making sure Americans don’t lose their health care amid the Trump administration push to dismantle ObamaCare. “Mental health care, the way I think about it is that we have to understand health care. You can’t just think that the body starts from the neck down. We also need health care for the neck up.”
Gomez, who has been outspoken about her bipolar disorder diagnosis and past mental health struggles said, “I just read too much about how deep this country is being affected mentally. I’ve had so many dreams about creating places that people could go to. I think there’s a part of me that wishes we had some sort of place that felt like, okay maybe you just need to get help.”
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Harris said she looks forward to working with Gomez on those issues and many more before asking the singer what her voting plan is. She’s voting early, btw, but more than that, she’s encouraged to see young people getting active and using their voices. “Because we are the ones that are going to trail blaze and we are going to be the next wave of people that are truly going to decide our future,” Gomez said. “And I plan on doing everything that I can to help and to just also encourage people to vote.”
Gomez also surprised fans with a six-song playlist to help them get out there and vote. The 21-minute collection includes “Same Old Love,” “Bad Liar,” “Survivors,” “Cut You Off,” “Lose You to Love Me” and “Kill Em With Kindness.”
Check out her tweet and playlist and chat with Sen. Harris below.
I put together a collection of my music for you to listen to in line for the polls or while dropping off your mail-in ballot. Make your voting plan at https://t.co/C8uFOxpxvn and make your voice heard! @whenweallvote #JoyToThePolls https://t.co/R8cI8J4Otc pic.twitter.com/S9pamuMmI5
— Selena Gomez (@selenagomez) October 30, 2020