Selena Gomez says vaping nicotine changed her voice, and she has quit. In a video of roughly a minute on her Instagram Story on Sunday, October 18, the 34-year-old told fans "I vaped nicotine a lot" and that it's "just not worth it," Variety reported.

Honestly? Most superstars would never dare. She looked straight into her phone camera, admitted that a habit she couldn't shake has changed one of the most famous voices in pop, and then told millions of fans she has beaten it.

The singer, actress and Rare Beauty founder got startlingly candid about nicotine. "I'm not gonna be able to change my voice," she said, according to BBC News. "I vaped nicotine a lot."

"It's just not worth it"

There was no glam, no publicist-polished statement and no sugarcoating. Gomez went straight to the people who might be where she was. "Nicotine is so hard to quit, and I think I just wanted to say, if you're going through it, or if you're even trying to vape, it's just not worth it," she said, as quoted by Variety. "It's so stupid, and it's changed my voice."

Then came the moment that had fans melting. With trademark self-deprecating humor, she joked that anyone who doesn't like how she sounds now is free to tune out. "So if you guys don't like listening to my voice, that's totally understandable. I don't mind. Just don't listen to it," she said, per BBC News, which reported that she laughed as she said it.

That is peak Selena: honest, a little bit funny and completely unbothered by what the comment section might think.

The big news: she stopped

The headline is not just the confession. It is the comeback. Gomez told her followers she has quit. "I am really excited because I stopped," she said, as reported by E! News, "and I just hope I can keep it up. It's really hard."

She closed with a message aimed squarely at anyone struggling with something of their own. "I know if you are going through something, you can get through it too," she said. "It sucks."

It is the kind of short, unfiltered pep talk that only works because it comes from someone who has clearly been through it, and who is not pretending the road was easy.

Why fans have been talking about her voice

Gomez's speaking and singing voice has been a topic among fans for a while. BBC News noted that some fans have posted compilation videos tracing how her voice has changed over the years.

Before Sunday, she had pointed to other reasons. During an Instagram Live last December, she answered fan questions about her voice by saying her throat sometimes swells on the inside, according to Variety. E! News reported that in that same session she said she had been asked the question "a few times" and told fans, "I'm glad you're being real with me on the Live."

BBC News also pointed out that Gomez has lupus, an autoimmune disease, and that lupus flare-ups can cause inflammation around the voice box, which can leave a voice raspy or strained. Sunday's video was the first time she publicly linked the change to vaping, which is why her admission landed with such force.

A star who keeps choosing honesty

This is far from the first time Gomez has opened up when staying quiet would have been easier. As Variety recapped, she has spoken publicly about having lupus, received a kidney transplant in 2017 and has discussed her bipolar disorder diagnosis, including in the 2022 documentary Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me.

That track record is exactly why her fan base trusts her. When she says something is "not worth it", people listen. And the timing of this message, from a star with one of the biggest followings on social media, could reach people that no public health campaign ever would.

E! News also highlighted something else she said recently that fits the same theme. Speaking to People in an interview published in September, Gomez said getting older "has been so fun" and that she is "not scared at all", adding, "I think age is just a number in many ways."

What is next for Selena

Her schedule is anything but quiet. BBC News reported that she recently finished filming the next season of Only Murders in the Building in London. According to Variety, the Hulu hit returns on December 8 for its sixth season, retitled Only Murders in London, with Gomez once again starring alongside Steve Martin and Martin Short, and serving as an executive producer.

She also continues to run Rare Beauty, the cosmetics brand she launched in 2020.

So the voice may sound a little different than it did in her Disney days. But the woman behind it just showed the kind of strength that no vocal range can measure. If anything, Selena Gomez sounds more like herself than ever.