Selena Gomez ‘loses over 700,000 Instagram followers’ amid tearful deportation video backlash

Selena Gomez has reportedly lost over 700,000 Instagram followers after sharing an emotional video slamming former U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest executive orders.

The singer and actress posted the now-deleted clip last month, in which she appeared visibly upset over the policy changes, particularly regarding immigration.

The 32-year-old singer said tearfully in the video, “I’m so sorry. All my people are getting attacked. The children, I don’t understand.”

“I wish I could do something, but I can’t. I don’t know what to do. I’ll try everything, I promise.”

Trump recently signed an executive order expected to result in the deportation of millions, and his administration has appointed former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Tom Homan as “border czar” to lead the crackdown on illegal immigration. 

Speaking about the policy shift, Homan stated that the U.S. military had been deployed to the Mexican border and shared that the new approach “sends a strong signal to the world - our border is closed.”

He said, “If you’re in the country illegally, you’re on the table, because it’s not OK to, you know, violate the laws of this country.”

“You got to remember, every time you enter this country illegally, you violated a crime under Title Eight, the United States Code 1325, it’s a crime.”

Following the backlash over her video, Gomez deleted the post and later shared a follow-up message, “Apparently, it’s not okay to show empathy for people.”

According to social media analytics site CritiqueJeu, the star has lost over 808,000 Instagram followers in the past 30 days. 

As reported by The Daily Mail, Paul Lenglet, co-founder and editor of CritiqueJeu, noted that Gomez had ended 2024 on a high, but 2025 had been more challenging.

He said, “Selena Gomez had a great end to 2024, but the start of 2025 has not been so gentle on her.

He also pointed out that she has faced criticism for her involvement in the film Emilia Pérez, a Paris-based production with a storyline set in Mexico.

He added, “The star has been facing many criticisms over her participation and performance on Emilia Pérez, a film directed and filmed in Paris, but with a story that takes place in Mexico.”