's official Twitter account posted a promotional still from the film and extended an "open invitation" to Selena Gomez and co-star Vanessa Hudgens to attend a party at the Playboy Mansion InStyle Magazine : Selena Gomez actually appeared on the cover of InStyle Magazine March 2013 for a high-fashion photoshoot. Viral Hoaxes
The primary driver behind the Playboy rumors was the release of the film Spring Breakers in March 2013.
Reports from that period indicated that both Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus were offered multi-million dollar deals to pose for the publication, but both stars refused. Real 2013 Projects: In March 2013, Gomez was actually promoting the film Spring Breakers
The rumors did not manifest out of thin air. In March 2013, Gomez starred in Harmony Korine's gritty, neon-soaked crime-thriller Spring Breakers alongside Vanessa Hudgens and Ashley Benson. The film featured the actresses shedding their childhood images to play bikini-clad, hard-partying college students caught up in a world of drugs and violence. Selena Gomez Playboy Magazine March 2013
The 2013 Selena Gomez hoax remains a primary case study in how internet trolls use photo-editing software to manipulate celebrity images for clickbait. Similar hoaxes targeted contemporaries like Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus during their respective exits from children's television networks. 13 Unforgettable Selena Gomez Magazine Covers
: The film's heavy party themes caught the attention of Playboy's official social media accounts. In early 2013, the publication publicly sent out a tweet inviting Gomez and Hudgens to "wave goodbye to their Disney days" and consider posing for the magazine.
: Digital manipulators created a highly realistic, NSFW mock-up cover using a lookalike's body paired with Gomez’s face. 's official Twitter account posted a promotional still
Instead of Playboy , Gomez graced high-fashion and lifestyle publications during this exact era to showcase her evolving style. She shot high-profile covers for magazines like Harper’s Bazaar (April 2013 issue, released in March), wearing Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, and Oscar de la Renta to reintroduce herself to the public as an elegant young woman.
Read a of her transition from Disney to solo stardom.
The rumor gained traction due to a perfect storm of events in early 2013: the release of her provocative indie film Spring Breakers , a highly publicized public invitation from Playboy on social media, and the release of mature imagery for her solo debut album, Stars Dance . The Origin of the March 2013 Playboy Rumor Real 2013 Projects: In March 2013, Gomez was
Rumors began circulating on various gossip blogs and social media platforms that Gomez was set to appear in the March 2013 issue of Playboy . Some sources even claimed she had accepted a multi-million dollar offer.
Her primary vehicle for this transformation was Spring Breakers . The film was a shocking departure from her previous work. In the movie, Gomez spends a significant amount of screen time in a bikini, and the film's content is a far cry from her Disney days. Despite the provocative nature of the film, Gomez never posed fully nude; her most revealing moments were limited to swimsuit-clad scenes.
The persistent rumors linking Selena Gomez to the adult entertainment publication stem from a massive cultural and professional transition she underwent in the exact spring of 2013. Understanding why this rumor persists requires looking back at the definitive moment her career shifted from a Disney Channel darling to a mature Hollywood powerhouse. Why March 2013 Sparked the Rumor
In the spring of 2013, the internet was set ablaze by a viral rumor claiming that Selena Gomez had posed for the cover of Playboy magazine. For millions of fans who grew up watching her on the Disney Channel, the very idea that Gomez—then fresh off her wholesome Wizards of Waverly Place era—had stripped down for the iconic men's lifestyle magazine was shocking.